PORT ANGELES — A June trial has been set for a Port Angeles man charged with stealing a pickup truck before jumping out of a moving patrol vehicle on his way to jail.
Justin T. Cox, 31, pleaded not guilty Monday to single counts of theft of a motor vehicle and, in the alternative, possession of a stolen vehicle; resisting arrest; third-degree malicious mischief; third-degree escape and possession of methamphetamine.
Clallam County Superior Court Judge Brian Coughenour scheduled a trial for June 17.
The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office alleges that Cox stole a Ford Ranger from a Sequim-area residence and drove it to a parking lot on the 1800 block of Monroe Road east of Port Angeles late April 26 or early April 27.
Cox was found passed out inside the vehicle at about 1:22 a.m. and was in possession of 2.5 grams of methamphetamine, according to the affidavit for probable cause.
Cox resisted arrest and was eventually placed in the back of Sheriff’s Sgt. Eric Morris’s patrol vehicle, deputies said in court papers.
On the way to jail, Cox allegedly “mule kicked” the rear driver’s side window of the patrol vehicle several time, eventually breaking the glass, Morris said.
Cox then jumped out of the patrol vehicle, which was traveling at about 15 mph, near Front and Francis streets, Morris wrote.
Morris chased down Cox for about a block, pulled him down by the back of his sweatshirt onto a patch of grass and placed him in handcuffs with help from Port Angeles Police Officer Whitney Fairbanks, court papers said.
Cox was evaluated by medics at the scene. Medics used a pair of large bolt cutters to remove a damaged restraint that had been placed on Cox’s wrist at the Monroe Road location.
Medics administered ketamine to Cox to calm him down due to his injuries and behavior, Morris wrote in the affidavit.
Cox was evaluated at Olympic Medical Center and cleared before he was booked into the Clallam County jail, Morris said. Cox was being held Monday on $100,000 bail.
Cox’s arraignment was reset last Friday because he was having a medical procedure for a broken arm, court papers said. He appeared on a courtroom video monitor wearing a cast on his right arm Monday and in his initial court appearance April 29.
“It hurts,” Cox told his attorney, John Hayden of Clallam Public Defender, on Monday.
“It hurts bad.”
Clallam County Chief Criminal Deputy Brian King said Cox appeared to have injured his arm when he jumped out of the moving vehicle.
The injury was not diagnosed until it was noticed by jail staff, King said.
“We believe it happened when he made contact with the ground,” King said Monday.
A status hearing in Cox’s case was set for May 17.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsula dailynews.com.
