PORT ANGELES — A plea deal was reached Tuesday in the case of a Forks man accused of assaulting a pair of West End officers last November.
Taylor Jacob Graham, 20, agreed to change his plea of not guilty Tuesday at a court hearing and is expected to return to the Clallam County Courthouse at 9 a.m. Monday to make a new plea, said Jesse Espinoza, deputy prosecuting attorney for the Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Espinoza declined to provide more information about the plea deal because circumstances could change by then, he said.
Monday is also the date Graham was initially scheduled to begin trial.
He was initially charged with two counts of third-degree assault and single counts of attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle, obstructing a law enforcement officer and hit-and-run of an attended vehicle.
He allegedly kicked a Forks police officer and a La Push wildlife officer at Forks Community Hospital after his arrest Nov. 10, according to court documents.
A third-degree assault charge stemming from an alleged attack on La Push Police Chief Bill Lyon was dismissed Jan. 14 on jurisdictional grounds because the alleged crime occurred inside Olympic National Park.
Late Tuesday, Graham remained in the Clallam County jail on $5,000 bond, according to the jail roster.
Authorities had been looking for Graham because he had allegedly backed a truck into a car at an intersection in downtown Forks.
Lyon spotted Graham and the truck he was driving in the Rialto Beach parking lot.
Graham fled in the truck but became stuck in a ditch as he attempted a U-turn on Mora Road prior to the encounter with Lyon, police said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
