The Pe Ell man arrested Friday, April 18, for allegedly driving recklessly and fleeing from police in Lewis County while drunk with a baby, two teenagers and a handgun in the vehicle has been charged for a separate alleged attempt to elude from January.
Trevor R. Horner Jr., 20, is accused of leading police on a high-speed pursuit before fleeing on foot in January and fleeing again on foot when arrested on a separate DUI in February.
Horner was charged April 15 in Lewis County Superior Court with one count of attempt to elude stemming from a Jan. 22 incident where Horner allegedly fled from a Washington State Patrol trooper who tried to stop him at about 10:19 p.m. on the West Main Street overpass at Interstate 5 Exit 77 for expired tabs, according to court documents.
Horner, who was allegedly driving a green 2013 Ford Fiesta, is accused of accelerating away from the trooper and crossing the double yellow line as it turned south onto the I-5 ramp, causing another car to swerve toward the shoulder and strike the curb to avoid a collision, according to court documents.
Horner is accused of fleeing on southbound I-5 at speeds up to 90 mph before exiting I-5 at Exit 76, running a red light and getting back onto I-5. He allegedly hit speeds up to 114 mph before taking Exit 74, running a red light, turning east onto Labree Road then south onto Bishop Road.
Horner allegedly drove roughly 70 mph in a 35 mph zone, crossed the double center line into oncoming traffic and failed to obey a stop sign at the intersection of Bishop and Rush roads.
The trooper discontinued the pursuit at that point, but was later notified that Lewis County Sheriff’s Office deputies had located the vehicle at approximately 10:43 p.m. in the 300 block of Hewitt Road in Chehalis, according to court documents.
“Two males were seen walking from the vehicle and one was detained while the second had run away into the nearby trees,” the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office states in charging documents.
The detained male, who identified himself as the passenger of the vehicle, allegedly identified Horner as the driver and said he “had fled the scene because he didn’t have a driver’s license,” according to court documents.
“A check of Horner’s license status revealed he was ‘not license eligible,’” the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office stated in charging documents.
A trooper attempted to contact Horner about the incident over the next few weeks to get a statement, but “Horner always had an excuse as to why he couldn’t meet (the trooper) and said he didn’t know anything about the incident,” according to court documents.
On Feb. 5, troopers contacted Horner at the scene of an unrelated DUI incident. When the trooper investigating the Jan. 22 incident attempted to speak to Horner at the scene, Horner allegedly “attempted to flee on foot but was apprehended after a short pursuit,” according to court documents.
Horner was issued a summons notice on April 15 for an April 29 preliminary hearing, but was arrested by the Washington State Patrol and booked into the Lewis County Jail on the unrelated matter at approximately 9:49 p.m. on Friday, April 18, according to jail records.
In that case, a A trooper had tried to stop Horner’s vehicle on southbound I-5 at Exit 79 after he reportedly “watched the driver of the vehicle make several dangerous maneuvers to include unsafe passing, passing another vehicle on the shoulder, passing on the right and speeding,” according to Lewis County Superior Court documents.
The vehicle allegedly “sped up in an apparent attempt to flee” when the trooper initiated a traffic stop, according to court documents.
The vehicle reportedly exited the freeway onto westbound state Route 6 and continued driving at speeds in excess of 100 mph.
The vehicle reportedly sped through a stop sign at the end of Bunker Creek Road and turned left before stopping at the end of a dead-end road.
“The pursuit ended with the suspect vehicle stopped and all inside fled from the area, except one person who stayed at the scene and stated Trevor Horner was the driver,” according to court documents.
A trooper was able to catch one of the fleeing subjects, who was identified as Horner.
Horner was “carrying a baby he said was his son” when he was apprehended, according to court documents.
Horner is being held on $100,000 for that case. He is also being held on a no-bail hold for an unrelated Lewis County District Court case.
Horner was still in custody at the time of his preliminary hearing on Tuesday, where all parties agreed to set his bail for this case at $25,000.
Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, May 1.
