A Vancouver man who dragged a Clark County sheriff’s deputy through a parking lot from a stolen car was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in prison.
Aaron Michael Smith, 38, pleaded guilty in Clark County Superior Court to multiple felony charges between four separate cases. The charges included second-degree assault, two counts of third-degree assault, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, attempt to elude, second-degree possession of stolen property, two counts of second-degree burglary and theft of a motor vehicle. In exchange for his guilty pleas, several other charges were dismissed.
Smith potentially faced 36 years to life in prison if he had gone to trial on the original charges and was found guilty, Deputy Prosecutor Greg Harvey said.
The assault case, which carried the stiffest penalty, included an aggravating factor that allowed for a longer-than-normal sentence because it involved a law enforcement officer.
In that case, Deputy Thomas Maxfield was checking on a Honda Accord at about 9:45 p.m. July 10 in the Wal-Mart parking lot at 14500 N.E. Fourth Plain Blvd. The vehicle was reported stolen. When he approached it on foot, he watched another man, identified as Smith, walk toward the car and get inside, according to a probable cause affidavit. Maxfield told Smith three times to stop, but he did not comply.
Smith then started the car, and Maxfield tried to open the driver’s side door. Smith pulled back on the door, catching Maxfield’s arm in it, the affidavit states.
Maxfield ordered Smith to stop and struck him with his flashlight several times, but Smith kept driving. Smith accelerated and dragged Maxfield along for about 35 feet until the deputy was able to free himself, court records said.
Multiple law enforcement agencies pursued the Honda on Fourth Plain Boulevard. Smith drove into incoming traffic and ran several red lights, according to court documents. Police followed Smith to the Cascade Park area. Officers tried to ram the fleeing vehicle twice and ultimately forced Smith to crash near Southeast 104th and St. Helens avenues, the affidavit said.
Police K-9 Jango was used in detaining Smith, who was eventually pulled from the vehicle, court records state.
Smith reportedly told a deputy that he was “high as hell” and used methamphetamine, alcohol and marijuana that day, according to court documents.
He was also charged in a separate car chase, in which he stole a pickup in the early morning hours of June, 28, 2015. Shortly after, Battle Ground police spotted the stolen vehicle at a Shell gas station near the intersection of Main Street and state Highway 503, according to a separate probable cause affidavit.
When officers attempted to stop the pickup, Smith sped away, and they lost track of it near Padden Parkway and Interstate 205, the affidavit said. The pickup was spotted again about an hour later by other drivers on southbound I-205. It was reportedly traveling as fast as 100 mph, according to the sheriff’s office.
Smith stopped on the shoulder of I-205 north of the Mill Plain Boulevard exit and was apprehended, court records state.
He committed the other property crimes after allegedly skipping bail in the 2015 case, during which time there was a warrant out for his arrest, according to the prosecution.
On Wednesday, Smith said that his drug addiction is the root of his problems.
“Once I started using, it went all downhill,” he told Judge Daniel Stahnke.
Smith’s court-appointed attorney, Megan Peyton with Vancouver Defenders, said her client has gone through court-ordered treatment programs before and was doing well. However, he relapsed just before this most recent crime spree.
Stahnke sentenced Smith to 144 months, the attorneys’ previously agreed-upon recommendation. Smith was given credit for some time served.
