Four corrections deputies surrounded Darrell Classen as he yelled obscenities and threatened to assault the prosecutor assigned to his case during sentencing Tuesday in Clark County Superior Court. He remained silent, however, as the judge handed down a 20-year prison sentence.
Classen, 27, was previously convicted by a jury of holding a woman captive and beating her while inside a vehicle traveling north on Interstate 205 in September 2015. Judge David Gregerson described the incident as “one of the more disturbing cases” that has come before him.
The public attack prompted multiple Samaritans to come to the woman’s aid, one of which was an off-duty Vancouver firefighter whom Classen slapped across the face, Deputy Prosecutor James Smith said.
Classen was found guilty in October of felony harassment-death threats with the use of a deadly weapon, first-degree kidnapping with the use of a deadly weapon, two counts of second-degree assault and attempted first-degree kidnapping.
The jury, which heard about two days of testimony, returned the verdict after about an hour of deliberating.
“This was an extremely terrifying experience for the victim. The defendant’s behavior was completely outrageous, and (the victim) is lucky she wasn’t more severely injured than she was. Clearly, (Classen) is a career criminal and is deserving of the sentence he received,” Smith said after the hearing.
Samaritans intervene
Vancouver and Portland police officers were dispatched at about 3 p.m. Sept. 5, 2015, to a disturbance in a vehicle that was traveling north on I-205 from Portland. The vehicle, a blue 1992 Ford Taurus, pulled over on I-205 at the state Highway 14 exit before police arrived, according to a probable cause affidavit.
A woman ran from the car into the northbound lanes trying to flag down traffic. A man, identified as Classen, also left the vehicle and began chasing the woman. He tackled her, grabbed her by the head and slammed it into the side of a stopped truck, a witness said. Classen then threw her up against the stopped Ford Taurus, the affidavit states.
Other motorists stopped to help the woman and formed a line between her and Classen, court records said. One of those motorists, an off-duty Vancouver firefighter, was slapped across the left side of her face, according to the prosecution.
Classen tried to run away afterward, but Samaritans chased and tackled him and held him down until police arrived, court documents state.
Smith said the victim and Classen were acquaintances, and he had asked her for a ride around the block. However, Classen held the woman prisoner inside her own vehicle. He duck-taped her hands to the steering wheel and used force and threats to make her drive him around for about an hour. Smith said police suspected Classen was under the influence of methamphetamine at the time.
The woman’s 18-month-old son was also in the vehicle, he said. Classen threatened to kill the woman and her son. He hit her with his fists and other items in the car including a curling iron, and slashed her with a pair of scissors, the affidavit said.
One witness saw Classen punch the woman four to five times while she was driving, he said. Each punch caused the vehicle to swerve into the other lanes, and it nearly struck other vehicles, court records said. The woman suffered multiple cuts and bruises from the attack.
During sentencing, Smith called Classen’s conduct “very severe, very egregious” and said his behavior during the trial — laughing during witness testimony — was disturbing.
Classen, in response, began yelling and attempted to get up out of his seat, prompting corrections deputies to move in. “Take my cuffs off (expletive). I’ll (expletive) you up punk,” he shouted.
Smith asked Gregerson to sentence Classen to 24 years in prison, an exceptionally long sentence based on several factors.
Classen’s defense attorney, Steve Rucker, said his client has impulse control issues and needs help. He argued that the court should not give Classen a sentence that would exceed a murder conviction sentence.
