A Vancouver man convicted on multiple charges connected to an armed robbery and police pursuit that ended with him ramming his vehicle into a patrol car was sentenced Monday afternoon to more than 40 years in prison.
Thomas J. Keys III, 42, was arrested in September 2014. Officers had received word of an armed robbery at a convenience store in east Vancouver, where Keys threatened a cashier with a revolver.
Not long after, officers attempted to stop the stolen vehicle Keys was driving. As an officer was attempting to get out of his car, Keys drove his vehicle into the driver side of the patrol car, narrowly missing officers, according to court records. After crashing the car elsewhere, Keys fled on foot and was later arrested.
Before the robbery, the stolen car was involved in a hit-and-run crash in which a man told police the car had crashed in his yard and ran over his foot before speeding off, according to court records.