A Vancouver woman accused of leading multiple law enforcement agencies on a car chase from Portland’s Hayden Island that ended in a crash on Northeast Fourth Plain Boulevard appeared Monday in Clark County Superior Court.
Stacey E. Wielenbeck, 29, appeared to face an allegation of attempting to elude police stemming from the Saturday night incident that started at Jantzen Beach.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Officers with the Portland Police Bureau, Washington State Patrol, Vancouver Police Department and Clark County Sheriff’s Office began pursuing a black 1999 Dodge Dakota pickup after the driver, later identified as Wielenbeck, nearly ran over an officer in Portland.
Portland police Officer Brandon Haase and his partner, Officer John Sapper, had attempted to contact the pickup’s occupants in a parking lot for suspected drug use. The passenger in the pickup, identified in court records as Jonathan West Nelson, appeared to be hunched over using intravenous drugs, the affidavit said.
Haase said he approached the pickup and asked the occupants to provide their identification. Wielenbeck instead started the vehicle and reversed, pinning Haase’s body against another parked car. He was able to turn around and back up, he said, to avoid being crushed. The pickup brushed up against him a second time as Wielenbeck tried to flee, according to court records.
Sapper blocked the pickup with the patrol car, and Haase got in front of it and continued to yell for Wielenbeck to stop. She refused, so Haase drew his firearm. Wielenbeck stepped on the accelerator, causing the pickup to lurch toward Haase, who jumped out of the way to avoid being struck, court documents said.
The officers then began chasing the pickup and were later joined by the other agencies and an air unit.
A Clark County Sheriff’s deputy spotted the pickup in the 6600 block of Northeast 63rd Street in Walnut Grove, and it sped through a store parking lot. The deputy began to pursue the vehicle, which ran multiple stop signs and at times traveled about 75 mph in a 25 mph zone, the affidavit said.
The deputy attempted a pursuit intervention technique, or PIT, maneuver to ram and stop the vehicle but was unsuccessful. A second PIT maneuver caused the vehicle to crash at Northeast Fourth Plain Boulevard and Thurston Way, court records said.
The high-speed chase lasted about 11 minutes in Clark County, ending at 7:37 p.m.
On Monday, Wielenbeck, through tears, asked for an attorney. Judge Daniel Stahnke appointed Vancouver defense attorney Shon Bogar to represent her.
The prosecution said Wielenbeck has a negligent-driving conviction and warrants in Washington.
Stahnke set bail at $50,000. Wielenbeck will be arraigned April 15. She may face charges in Oregon at a later time, according to police.
Nelson also appeared in court on suspicion of violating his release conditions and bail jumping.
