PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles man suspected of leading police on a brief high-speed car chase in September was in the Clallam County jail Wednesday after Port Angeles police apprehended him over the weekend.
Police arrested 36-year-old Jerry Wallace Cline, also known as Luke Cline, on Sunday evening after serving a search warrant at a residence, said Brian Smith, deputy police chief.
Officers booked Cline into the county jail Sunday night for investigation of felony eluding a police vehicle, theft of a motor vehicle, first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, obstructing a law enforcement officer, making false statements to a law enforcement officer, third-degree driving with a suspended license, second-degree possession of stolen property and forgery, in addition to two unrelated outstanding warrants.
The suspected offenses for which Cline was most recently booked into jail span at least a year and a half, with the suspected felony eluding, vehicle theft and unlawful possession of a firearm all stemming from an incident that happened in September of this year.
Corvette involved
According to court records, Clallam County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Backes saw a 1985 red Chevrolet Corvette parked near the 1800 block of Mount Pleasant Road on Sept. 24 at about 6 p.m. The driver of the Corvette, later identified as Cline, drove off slowly without immediately stopping, court records said.
Backes eventually pulled the Corvette over, after which the deputy got out of his car and approached the Corvette.
Backes was walking toward the Corvette when it sped off, starting a high-speed chase that involved Cline driving on the wrong side of the road, running a stop sign and red traffic light, and nearly colliding with other vehicles multiple times, according to court documents.
The chase ensued over several county roads before Cline ditched the Corvette, along with a female passenger, in the McDonald’s restaurant parking lot between Front and First streets, court records said.
Cline fled on foot and managed to lose pursuing law officers — and his shirt, after hopping a barbed-wire fence in the 1600 block of East Front Street, court records said.
Deputies later found a wallet and mail in the Corvette identifying the driver as Jeffrey Cline, though his female passenger referred to him as Luke Cline.
Arrest reports indicate deputies found a loaded, semiautomatic pistol stashed under the right front passenger seat of the Corvette.
Shirtless man
Minutes after Cline hopped the fence, deputies received reports that a shirtless man had stolen a 1994 Jeep Wrangler from a residence in the 1900 block of East Ennis Road, court records said.
The residence from which the Jeep was stolen was in the direction Cline ran after the chase, according to court records.
About two hours later, deputies found the Jeep abandoned in a field in the 100 block of Roundtree Road, about 2 miles east of where Cline allegedly was last seen.
Deputies were not able to find Cline after a search of the field, court documents said.
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Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
