A 28-year-old man accused of pepper spraying a driver to steal his car Monday is being held in the Thurston County jail in lieu of $5,000 bail.
Jake Alexander Adams attended his preliminary appearance in Thurston County Superior Court on Tuesday. Judge Carol Murphy set the bail amount after finding there was a danger Adams may commit a violent crime if released.
Tumwater police arrested him Monday on suspicion of first-degree robbery while armed with a deadly weapon, second-degree assault while armed with a deadly weapon, and second-degree assault.
The alleged robbery occurred around 11:15 p.m. at the Tumwater Fred Meyer gas station on Trosper Road. Lt. Jen Kolb previously alleged Adams pepper sprayed a 65-year-old man who was filling his car with gas, threatened him with a knife and took his car.
Adams allegedly ditched the car at Ralph's Thriftway on Olympia's east side after being tracked by police, Kolb said. Officers later found him underneath a home in the 1900 block of State Avenue, she added.
Officers used "less lethal munitions" — pepper balls, for example, instead of bullets — to coax the man from a crawl space because he refused to come out, Kolb said.
Court records indicate Adams has no other criminal history in Thurston County. However, he was previously charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, in a 2017 Bonney Lake Municipal Court case.
A probable cause statement described the investigation into the alleged robbery and assaults from the perspective of law enforcement.
An officer responded to the scene and found the 65-year-old man pouring water onto his eyes to flush out the pepper spray. The man alleged that Adams approached him from behind and pepper sprayed him in one eye.
The man said he tried to confront Adams, but Adams allegedly pulled out a large black folding knife and threatened to stab him, according to the statement.
Two witnesses reportedly tried to stop Adams by hitting him with wiper squeegees supplied at the gas station. However, he got into the car and drove away.
The car had the owner's iPhone, iPad and wallet in it, and each device had tracking capabilities. The statement says police tracked the car to downtown Olympia near The Fourth Avenue Tavern.
Olympia police spiked the vehicle on Fourth Avenue and Adams allegedly ditched it at Ralph's Thriftway, according to the statement. Police set up a perimeter in the area and used a K9 team to track Adams.
The car reportedly contained two phones, one belonging to the owner and another phone that belonged to Adams.
Olympia police officers recognized Adams as someone who they had detained about two hours before the alleged robbery in Tumwater, according to the statement. It's unclear why he was previously detained.
The statement says police recovered all of the owner's possessions except for his wallet which held his credit cards and identification. Police also found pepper spray, a grocery bag and a large folding knife in the vehicle, according to the statement.
Police found Adams about 1:21 a.m. and used the "less lethal" means that Kolb described to coax him out of a crawl space. He allegedly carried the 65-year-old man's wallet with him.
Adams' arraignment hearing has been scheduled for 9 a.m. June 27.
