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Saturday car pursuit ends in crash, arrest

KEITH KINNAIRD | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 6 years, 3 months AGO
by KEITH KINNAIRD
News Editor | March 27, 2019 1:00 AM

OLDTOWN — A Bonner County man was arrested on Saturday after crashing into a tree while allegedly trying to outrun a Bonner County sheriff’s deputy.

Jacob Alan Oneal is charged with felony eluding, possession of methamphetamine, unlawful possession of a firearm and a misdemeanor charge of failing to notify of a crash.

Oneal, 24, made an initial appearance in Bonner County Magistrate Court on Monday. Judge Tera Harden set Oneal’s bond at $75,000 and appointed a public defender to represent him, court records indicate.

A sheriff’s deputy reported encountering a Buick LeSabre parked in the middle of Albeni Cove Road shortly before noon. A startled Oneal sped off, prompting a pursuit in which speeds reached 90 mph on the narrow dirt road with a posted speed limit of 35 mph, a probable cause affidavit said. The chase ended when Oneal crashed into a tree in the 600 block of East Fourth Street South, the affidavit said.

Oneal was found laying down in an embankment and was arrested without further incident. A passenger, Crystal Ann Frye, was also arrested for possession of hypodermic drug paraphernalia, court records show. A K-9 search led to the recovery of a loaded 9-millimeter Tauraus semiautomatic pistol, which was found in the snow near where Frye was arrested, the affidavit said.

An empty holster and 9-millimeter ammunition were found in Oneal’s Buick, although he denied possessing the firearm, according to the affidavit.

Frye, 32, told deputies they were in the process of injecting meth when the deputy encountered them, the affidavit said. Oneal said he fled because he has an active Washington Department of Corrections warrant, the affidavit stated.

Oneal is being prosecuted as a persistent violator due to prior convictions in Washington state for failing to register as a sex offender and burglary in Snohomish County and a third-degree assault conviction in Pend Oreille County, court records indicate. If convicted of the underlying charges, the sentencing enhancement would add five years to life in prison.

A preliminary hearing in the case is set for April 3.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.

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