A man accused of driving the wrong way on Interstate 5, hitting another car head-on near Exit 68 and then breaking into two Winlock residences early Monday morning is now facing felony charges in Lewis County Superior Court.
The man, Michael James Maggard, 53, of Toledo, was allegedly driving southbound on northbound I-5 when his vehicle struck another vehicle head-on near Exit 68, according to court documents.
The deputy who located the crash was responding to a report made just after 1:10 a.m. on March 13 that a vehicle, which was later identified as Maggard’s, was driving the wrong way on I-5.
The driver of the other vehicle reported “shoulder pain” and had “a small abrasion on his hands” following the collision. He said he could not see the driver of the other vehicle.
“While the car may have been identified, the driver was never identified,” said defense attorney Rachael Tiller during Maggard’s preliminary hearing in Lewis County Superior Court on Tuesday. “I did not notice any injury or anything to indicate (Maggard) was involved in a head-on collision on I-5.”
The deputy reportedly located Maggard’s vehicle, which was vacant, upside down in a ditch near milepost 63 on northbound I-5 shortly after talking with the victim. A witness who pulled over to talk to the deputy reported seeing a suspect “jump from the vehicle while it was still moving” and said the suspect was wearing “a black hoodie,” according to court documents.
At about 1:40 a.m. that same day, dispatch received a report of a break-in at a residential trailer in the 760 block of Frost Road in Winlock.
The trailer’s occupant reported someone came in through the back door of the trailer, where his bedroom is located, and stepped inside before the resident “woke up and began yelling at the suspect, who then left quickly.”
While deputies were interviewing the resident and waiting for a K9 unit to arrive, a deputy reportedly saw “a white male with a white T-shirt trying to put on a dark-colored jacket while he was running around the rear of the trailer,” according to court documents.
The deputy reportedly “recognized he male as Mr. Maggard and ran after him,” at which point Maggard reportedly “dropped to the ground and placed his hands behind his back.”
While the deputy was placing Maggard into the back of their patrol vehicle, a man reportedly approached the deputy and claimed “Mr. Maggard had just broken into his trailer prior to being apprehended.”
According to the man, “he had turned on the lights in his kitchen and saw Mr. Maggard laying on his couch.” Maggard reportedly “took off running out of the trailer” after the man “yelled and cursed at (him).”
The man identified the jacket Maggard was putting on at the time of the arrest as his and accused Maggard of taking it from his trailer, per court documents.
During a tour of the man’s trailer, which was also located in the 760 block of Frost Road, a deputy reportedly found “a black sweatshirt on the ground” that “was soaking wet from the rain.” The man told the deputy the sweatshirt belonged to Maggard.
Maggard was booked into the Lewis County Jail just after 5:40 a.m. on Monday, March 13.
While Tiller argued there was no evidence to connect Maggard to the collision on I-5, Jackson said given his presence in the Winlock neighborhood near where his vehicle was found, “I believe there is circumstantial evidence that he likely is the suspect.”
Maggard was charged Tuesday with two counts of residential burglary and one count each of felony hit-and-run, reckless driving and third-degree theft.
Court Commissioner Paul Strophy granted Jackson’s request to set Maggard’s bail at $50,000 on Tuesday, citing community safety concerns and the risk that Maggard would fail to appear at a future court hearing if released as his reasons.
Maggard’s arraignment hearing is scheduled for Thursday, March 16.
