A 42-year-old Olympia man accused of assaulting a driver over a traffic dispute on Interstate 5 is being held in Thurston County jail in lieu of $5,000 bail.
Washington State Patrol troopers arrested the man Wednesday after he allegedly pointed a gun at another driver, shattered their windows and drove off.
Troopers booked the man into jail on suspicion of second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and second-degree malicious mischief. He attended his preliminary appearance in Thurston County Superior Court on Thursday.
Court Commissioner Nathan Kortokrax found probable cause for the alleged crimes and set the bail amount. In doing so, he reasoned the man may commit a violent crime if released. The man has no known prior convictions, according to court records.
A probable cause statement describes the investigation into the incident from the perspective of law enforcement.
The incident started at about 5 p.m. Wednesday as the man drove south on I-5 near Pacific Avenue Southeast, according to the statement.
Another driver, the alleged victim in this case, reportedly merged into the left lane to avoid an exit. The statement says this angered the suspect because he felt he had been cut off.
In response, the suspect allegedly changed lanes, accelerated past the other driver and then merged in front of them. He then braked hard to force the other driver to stop.
This also caused another driver behind the alleged victim to brake hard and stop very close to them. As a result, the alleged victim was reportedly unable to maneuver their vehicle out of the situation.
In an interview, the victim told police the man approached their car, grabbed their partially opened window with his bare hands and shattered the glass. They said they were surprised by how easily the "window crumbled" in the man's hands.
After that, troopers reported the man returned to his vehicle, grabbed a gun and proceeded to point it at the alleged victim. When interviewed later, the suspect reportedly admitted to pointing the weapon at the alleged victim.
The suspect told troopers he did so with the intent to "shoot" or "at least scare" the alleged victim, according to the statement. The suspect said he felt as if he was having an "out of body experience" during the incident and could not think clearly.
Before getting into his vehicle and driving away, the suspect allegedly struck the victim's passenger side window with the gun, shattering the glass.
A passing state trooper noticed the stopped vehicles as the man began to drive away, according to the probably cause statement. The victim reportedly flagged the trooper and motioned them to follow the man.
The trooper activated their emergency lights, but the man continued to drive at a normal speed. The statement says the man eventually exited the freeway at Trosper Road and made his way to the Toyota of Olympia dealership. There, the man stopped his vehicle.
During the brief pursuit, the alleged victim called 911 and dispatchers informed the trooper that the man carried a gun.
With that in mind, the trooper reportedly conducted a "high risk stop" and ordered the man to step out of his vehicle. The statement says the man did not initially comply with demands and instead approached the trooper.
He reportedly told the trooper, "Just shoot me. What does it matter? My life is over."
Eventually, a sergeant backed up the trooper and they managed to talk the man into complying, according to the statement.
The suspect's right hand was bleeding heavily, so he was transported to Providence St. Peters Hospital in Olympia.
A detective later interviewed the suspect and victim, and both shared a similar series of events, but the victim did not recall seeing the man point the handgun at them.
The damage to the victim's car totaled about $736, according to the statement.
Anyone experiencing a crisis or considering suicide can call 988 to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
