Suspect in I-5 chase nixes plea deal

EVERETT — A man accused of shooting at police during a chase on 1-5 near Everett a couple of months ago rejected a plea agreement that would have landed him behind bars for about 20 years.

Now, prosecutors say they plan to file additional charges against Theodore Ohms that could send him to prison for more than 40 years.

Ohms was scheduled to plead guilty on Wednesday afternoon to four felony charges, including first-degree assault with a firearm and vehicular assault. He is accused of shooting at a sheriff’s deputy Sept. 1 during a high-speed chase and running from the scene of an injury accident.

The pursuit, the crash and the manhunt stranded thousands of drivers. A 49-year-old woman was severely injured when her van was hit.

Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Janice Albert planned to recommend a 20-year sentence, the low end of the standard range, in exchange for the plea.

Ohms, 24, apparently had a change of heart on Wednesday.

Ignoring the advice of his attorney not to speak, Ohms told the judge that his was a “high-profile” case and he didn’t feel like he was getting adequate legal advice. He said he’d seen the legal paperwork, but because he never finished school it was difficult for him to read.

“I feel like I’m being coerced into taking the 20 years,” Ohms said.

Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Ronald Castleberry advised Ohms that it was his decision and he could make a motion to get a new attorney later. In the meantime, the judge said he wanted to make sure that Ohms understood the prosecutor’s position.

“As of today, the prosecutor’s office is withdrawing the plea agreement. They will be filing more serious charges against you. If you’re found guilty, it’s a substantially higher standard range,” Castleberry said.

“Yeah, I understand,” Ohms said.

Smiling and shaking his head, Ohms was led out of the courtroom.

After his capture, Ohms told detectives that he ran from police because didn’t want to go to jail, court papers said. At the time, Ohms was wanted for failing to report to the state Department of Corrections. He was being supervised because of a drug conviction. The probation violation likely would have landed Ohms in jail for a couple of months.

Instead, Ohms is accused of blazing through Everett in a flurry of desperation and violence.

It all started when a sheriff’s deputy tried to pull over a Volkswagen Jetta with canceled license plates in south Everett. Ohms refused to stop and led police on a high-speed chase, Albert wrote in court papers.

Officers called off the pursuit for safety concerns but picked it up again on nearby Highway 526. That’s where Ohms, while still driving, sprang up through the open sunroof and pointed a gun at a deputy, Albert wrote.

Ohms is accused of firing at least three shots. One bullet bounced off the Jetta’s roof and hit the undercarriage of the deputy’s patrol car. Then the Jetta sped onto northbound I-5.

The fleeing car crashed into a van south of 41st Street. The driver was severely injured when her van flipped on the freeway.

Ohms ran from the Jetta and jumped into the bed of the truck that slowed because of the crash, according to court documents. He hitched a ride off the freeway and ran into a residential area between Broadway and Evergreen Way.

Police swarmed the neighborhood. A police dog caught the running man’s scent near a wooded area off Olympic Drive.

The canine found Ohms hiding in a wooded area in Everett’s Beverly Park neighborhood. Ohms was bitten at least once during his last moments of freedom, according to documents.

Ohms’ girlfriend, who was a passenger in the Jetta, later told police that he’d bought methamphetamine just before the deputy tried to pull him over. She told police that when Ohms saw the deputy he said, “Sorry, but I have to do this,” and sped away.

The woman later led police to a gun on Highway 526. She told detectives she grabbed the gun and tossed it out the car window after Ohms shot at police.

Ohms admitted to having a gun, but denied shooting at anyone, Albert wrote. Later he said he shot in the air because the cop didn’t stop after he flashed the gun. He called the crash on I-5 a “fender bender,” Albert wrote.

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.