A Battle Ground man pleaded guilty Monday to reduced charges related to a police chase early Sept. 16, during which he allegedly kicked a police dog at least 10 times and had to be subdued with an electronic weapon.
In an agreement with prosecutors, Joseph W. Chumley, 36, pleaded guilty in Clark County Superior Court to attempting to elude police, forgery and third-degree theft.
In exchange, Senior Deputy Prosecutor Jeff McCarty agreed to dismiss charges of attempting to harm a police dog, third-degree driving while suspended and second-degree identity theft.
Chumley’s attorney, Ed Dunkerly, requested that Chumley be screened for the state’s Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative. Judge John Nichols scheduled a hearing for today to order the screening.
The sentencing alternative allows defendants to avoid felony convictions by completing a drug treatment program. Those who fail to complete the program are convicted of the felony or felonies and sentenced under the state’s sentencing guidelines. Chumley faces 22 to 29 months in prison for his crimes.
Dunkerly said McCarty has recommended a sentence of 25 months.
He said that if the case had gone to trial, he would have argued that Chumley kicked the K-9, named Jango, in self defense. The dog suffered minor injuries, including bruising, according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
Dunkerly said the dog bit both Chumley and Chumley’s girlfriend.
Sheriff’s Deputy Adam Beck wrote in a court affidavit that he attempted to stop a green Saturn sedan for a possible traffic infraction just after 2 a.m. Sept. 16 at Northeast 88th Street and St. Johns Road. When he switched on his emergency lights, the sedan initially slowed and pulled over toward the shoulder of the road, then accelerated and continued east on 88th Street at a high rate of speed with the headlights shut off, Beck wrote.
Beck followed the vehicle and stopped when he saw a construction worker on the side of the road at the intersection of Northeast Andresen Road and 88th Street. The construction worker said the sedan had just sped through the intersection and nearly struck him, according to Beck. The sedan then headed toward a parking lot at The Home Depot, 8601 N.E. Andresen Road, the construction worker said, according to the court document.
Beck said he located the sedan behind the store, but the vehicle was unoccupied. Several other deputies set up a containment perimeter around the store and sent Jango to track the driver. He led the deputies to some bushes, where deputies found Chumley and his girlfriend, Jensina Tech, Beck wrote.
“Chumley resisted commands by officers and was observed kicking the K-9 over 10 times,” Beck wrote.
Chumley was treated at the hospital for dog bites and then was booked into jail.
He has a significant criminal history and at the time of the police chase, he had just been released from prison after serving 25 months for second-degree theft and forgery, Nichols said.
John Philip Lewis, a victim of the forgery and third-degree theft, told Nichols that his identity was stolen after someone took his checkbook and obtained his Social Security number and driver’s license number. Chumley used Lewis’ identity to try to purchase tires from Les Schwab for $367, according to court documents.
“This is a permanent ongoing matter for me because I have to very closely monitor my personal information,” Lewis said.
