The driver who allegedly tried last month to hit a Clark County sheriff’s deputy with his vehicle, prompting an officer-involved shooting, made a first appearance in court Thursday in the case.
Drew Patrick Lodahl, 30, of Vancouver appeared in Superior Court on suspicion of first-degree assault and two counts of attempting to elude stemming from the April 27 incident on Sunset Falls Road. However, Judge John Fairgrieve found probable cause to support a charge of second-degree assault instead.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, Deputy Timothy Gosch spotted a suspicious vehicle parked in a turnout in the 33800 block of Northeast Sunset Falls Road at about 9:30 a.m. and contacted the two occupants. He believed both were wanted for felony warrants and that the car was stolen.
The driver, identified as Lodahl, refused to leave the black Honda Accord, so Gosch moved to the front, driver’s side. Lodahl then started the car, in spite of Gosch’s orders not to, and sped toward the deputy, the affidavit states.
Gosch back-pedaled out of the way and fired one shot from his service handgun at the driver. The bullet hit the car, court records said. No one was injured.
Lodahl and his passenger, Alena Timonen, 30, of Battle Ground, fled in the car heading east toward Sunset Falls Campground, and deputies swarmed the area to search for them. About 90 minutes later, the Honda was spotted heading west on the road before it crashed into a westbound commercial flatbed truck, according to the sheriff’s office.
A deputy maneuvered behind the suspect vehicle, pinning it in, the sheriff’s office said. No one was injured in the incident.
Lodahl and Timonen were taken into custody for the outstanding warrants.
Timonen later admitted to Vancouver police detectives that before fleeing she and Lodahl discussed not wanting to go to jail. During their investigation, detectives learned Timonen had also fled from Portland Police Bureau officers earlier that morning.
According to the sheriff’s office, Gosch was placed on critical incident leave, a standard practice after officer-involved shootings.
Lodahl also appeared Thursday in a separate attempt to elude case.
On April 20, a Vancouver police officer was searching for a suspect vehicle occupied by Lodahl and Timonen when he spotted them traveling north on Southeast 126th Avenue. The officer activated his lights and siren, but the car sped up and eventually drove into oncoming traffic on Northeast Fourth Street, passing several cars at speeds estimated to be in excess of 50 mph in a 25 mph zone, according to a separate probable cause affidavit.
Judge Fairgrieve set Lodahl’s bail at $225,000 between the two cases, and he will be arraigned May 24.
It does not appear that Timonen has been charged in the cases. She did appear in court May 5 in a separate case for allegedly taking a motor vehicle, court records show.
