A man who taped a woman’s hand to a steering wheel, forced her to drive and repeatedly punched her had his sentence reduced Wednesday.
Darrell Classen, 29, was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2016. But the Washington Court of Appeals ruled that his case be reopened on one of the counts, second-degree assault, due to ineffective assistance of counsel, Clark County Senior Deputy Prosecutor James Smith said.
The ruling was based on the belief that Classen’s defense attorney at the time, Steve Rucker, should have argued for a fourth-degree assault conviction rather than the higher charge, Smith said.
Classen pleaded guilty Wednesday to fourth-degree assault, and his overall sentence was reduced to just over 16 years. The sentence is the maximum allowed under state law, Smith said.
“This is a little bit of an unusual situation,” Clark County Superior Court Judge John Fairgrieve said. “This count, in itself, isn’t significant in terms of the realm of the entire sentence.”
Classen’s case went to trial, and a jury returned a verdict in about an hour. Judge David Gregerson said at Classen’s original sentencing hearing in 2016 that it was “one of the more disturbing cases” that had come before him.
In September 2015, Vancouver and Portland police responded to a disturbance in a vehicle that was traveling north on Interstate 205 from Portland. The blue 1992 Ford Taurus had pulled over near the state Highway 14 exit, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
As a woman ran from the car into the northbound lanes trying to flag down traffic, Classen chased her. He then tackled her, grabbed her by the head and slammed it into the side of a stopped truck, a witness said. Classen then vomited on the stopped Ford Taurus, the affidavit states.
Other drivers eventually formed a line to block Classen from the woman, court records said. One motorist, an off-duty Vancouver firefighter, was slapped across the left side of her face, Smith said in 2016.
Classen tried to run away but was chased and tackled by the Samaritans, who held him down until police arrived, court documents state.
Smith said in 2016 that the victim and Classen were acquaintances, and he had asked her for a ride around the block. After entering the car, Classen duct-taped her hands to the steering wheel and made her drive him around for about an hour. Smith said police suspected Classen was under the influence of methamphetamine.
The woman’s 18-month-old son was also in the vehicle, Smith said in 2016. Classen threatened to kill the woman and her son, punched her and struck her with other items in the car, including a curling iron, and slashed her with a pair of scissors, the affidavit said.
One witness said he saw Classen punch the woman four to five times while she was driving. 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.
During Classen’s original sentencing hearing, Smith called his conduct “very severe, very egregious” and said his behavior during the trial — laughing during witness testimony — was disturbing.
“Take my cuffs off (expletive). I’ll (expletive) you up punk,” Classen then shouted at Smith while attempting to get out of his seat, prompting four corrections deputies to intervene.
On Wednesday, Smith again characterized Classen’s actions as egregious, briefly looking toward him as he repeated the comment. But Classen, wearing an orange jumpsuit and kept away from other prisoners in the courtroom, said little during the hearing other than to briefly answer Fairgrieve’s questions.
