PORT ANGELES — A Sequim man accused of trying to run over a Port Angeles police officer has been convicted of second-degree assault as well as witness tampering after he told a woman with him that day to lie about what happened.
Jacob Kendall Backman, 36, was convicted by a Clallam County jury on Thursday.
The jury found the assault charge to be aggravated because the victim was an on-duty police officer, so Backman faces a possible sentence of 10 years when he is sentenced March 18.
Court documents give this account:
Port Angeles Officer Bruce Fernie responded to a report of possible drug activity on East Second Street Fernie on May 13.
When Fernie approached a white truck driven by Backman and signaled the vehicle to stop at about 6:40 p.m., Backman quickly accelerated, causing Fernie to run, then push off the truck as it passed to avoid being run over.
Backman wrote a letter from jail to his woman passenger telling her what to testify to, and that she should “remember” a statement differently than what she told police, resulting in the tampering conviction.
Backman, 36, has previous felony convictions for robbery, drugs, firearms, and malicious mischief, according to the Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
