Four arrested after pursuit ends in crash in East Lewis County; Centralia police seek to identify victims 

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office arrested four individuals after a chase on U.S. Highway 12 that began in the Morton area on Thursday afternoon, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. 

“Lewis County deputies were made aware of a suspect vehicle traveling in the area of Packwood, wanted in connection with several crimes from the previous day out of the Centralia Police Department,” the sheriff’s office stated in a news release. 

The sheriff’s office was advised that there was probable cause to arrest the occupants of the vehicle for first-degree identity theft, attempted first-degree theft, organized retail theft, eluding and forgery, according to the release. 

Just before 1 p.m. Thursday, the suspect vehicle was located traveling westbound on U.S. Highway 12 near Davis Lake Road in Morton.  

“A pursuit was initiated and, during this time, the suspect attempted to pass a motorist on the shoulder, causing a collision,” the sheriff’s office stated. “Shortly after the collision, the suspect vehicle became disabled after a PIT maneuver was successfully utilized.

“Four suspects were taken into custody and later booked into the Lewis County Jail on the theft-related charges. The driver was also booked with fresh charges for eluding and hit-and-run. We would like to thank the Centralia Police Department, Morton Police Department and WSP, who assisted us with this investigation. This is a great example of the working partnerships we have in our county!”

A co-defendant who had been previously arrested, Donald Christopher Homerding, made an appearance in Lewis County Superior Court on Thursday afternoon. His bail was set at $100,000. Information discussed during the hearing indicated Homerding and his co-defendants, who will appear in court Friday, are from Florida and traveled together to Washington state as part of a criminal scheme. 

Centralia police provide details

After the arrests of the suspects on Thursday, the Centralia Police Department detailed its investigation in a news release. 

On June 11, 2025, Centralia officers were dispatched to TwinStar Credit Union for the report of a man attempting to cash a check using a stolen driver license. The male was later identified as Homerding of Hallandale Beach, Florida. 

“As Homerding was being detained by arriving officers, his accomplices quickly drove from the area in a late model Chevrolet Tahoe,” Centralia police stated in the release. “The check that Homerding was attempting to cash had been stolen from a victim from Mountlake Terrace and the ID he was using had been stolen from a victim in Ocean Shores.” 

Homerding was booked into the Lewis County Jail for first-degree identity theft. Additional felony charges are being referred to the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office.

Officers and detectives began working on identifying the occupants of the Tahoe, which had been rented from Enterprise Rent-A-Car. 

On Thursday, Centralia police detectives located the suspect vehicle in Lakewood and conducted surveillance on it, according to the release. 

“When its occupants drove to a nearby marijuana dispensary in Tacoma, the detectives conducted a traffic stop and attempted to block the vehicle in to prevent escape,” the release stated. “The occupants, three males and a female, fled from the detectives by driving recklessly over the curb and business sidewalk before speeding into traffic. The detectives did not pursue as they were in unmarked vehicles. A search for the vehicle continued in the hours that followed using technology such as Flock Safety cameras and a search warrant into the vehicle's onboard GPS.”

The vehicle was eventually located using the GPS system as it drove on U.S. Highway 12 near Packwood. Detectives from the Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET) and sheriff’s office deputies drove to the Packwood area to intercept the suspects. 

Lewis County Sheriff Rob Snaza ultimately located the vehicle and followed it while calling for additional units, according to Centralia police. A sheriff’s office sergeant and Morton Police Chief Cole Cournyer joined Snaza a short time later.  

“The Tahoe attempted to elude after Sheriff Snaza activated his overhead lights to stop it,” Centralia police stated. “At one point, the suspect vehicle attempted to pass another motorist on the shoulder and collided into the vehicle, which disabled one of the tires on the suspect vehicle.  As the pursuit continued, the suspects were seen throwing items of evidence out of the vehicle to include cell phones.” 

When the pursuit neared Morton, sheriff’s office Sergeant D. Lowery conducted a PIT maneuver — a precision immobilization technique — on the Tahoe, disabling it. The four occupants were arrested and transported to Arbor Health Hospital for medical clearance prior to being booked into the Lewis County Jail. 

Two of the three males refused to identify themselves and were found to be in possession of numerous fake IDs, according to Centralia police. One male identified himself as Dimitrius Daniel, 24, of Florida, and the female was identified as Sarah A. Olson, 41 of Longview. All were booked into the Lewis County Jail for identity theft, first-degree conspiracy to commit theft and conspiracy to commit forgery. Additional charges, including eluding a police vehicle, are being referred to the Lewis and Pierce County prosecutors’ offices.

“It is believed that they have committed numerous acts of forgery, identity theft, theft from banks, and possibly retail stores by passing stolen checks using stolen IDs,” Centralia police stated in the release. “... Centralia detectives are attempting to identify the many victims in this case.  Additional charges will be added once the victims are identified.”

Anyone with additional information about the incident or any criminal activity committed by the suspects is asked to contact the Centralia Police Department at 360-330-7680.

“The Centralia Police Department wishes to thank LCSO, JNET and Morton PD for their assistance with the apprehension and detention of these suspects,” Centralia police stated in the release. “Their cooperation and quick response to our request for help was instrumental in stopping this crime spree.”