A Salem, Ore., man is being held on $40,000 bail after allegedly ramming his SUV into a vehicle that his estranged wife and her boyfriend were in last week near La Center, after the two had returned from grocery shopping.
Jeffrey V. Seideman, 49, was arrested Friday on suspicion of first-degree assault.
According to a deputy’s probable cause statement included in court records, deputies were first called Thursday for a report of a cold hit-and-run crash at Northwest Bolen Street and Northwest Pacific Highway.
According to court records, Darin Robertson told deputies he was returning from grocery shopping in Woodland with his girlfriend, Jennifer Seideman, and her teenage daughter that night.
Robertson said they returned to Jennifer Seideman’s father’s house, where she had been staying, around 1 a.m. that Thursday morning.
When they arrived, they saw Jeffrey Seideman, Jennifer’s estranged husband and the girl’s father, sitting in his SUV.
The girl hopped out of the vehicle to speak with Jeffrey Seideman, then went inside as Robertson and Jennifer Seideman unloaded the groceries, according to court records.
Robertson and Jennifer Seideman then got back in Robertson’s vehicle. While in the car, Robertson saw Jeffrey Seideman, who was shining a light at the windshield, approach.
According to court records, Robertson told the deputy that Jeffrey Seideman has threatened him in the past, and he dislikes that Robertson is dating Jennifer Seideman.
After recognizing Robertson, Jeffrey Seideman got back into his SUV and proceeded to ram Robertson’s vehicle, according to court records.
Robertson drove away with Jennifer Seideman as Jeffrey Seideman tried to ram them again, and he pursued them down the hill on Pleasant View Drive toward the main road.
When Robertson stopped for a stop sign at Northwest Bolen Street and Northwest Pacific Highway, Jeffrey Seideman slammed into his vehicle again, forcing him into the middle of Pacific Highway, Robertson told the deputy.
Robertson said he continued driving away, and Jeffrey Seideman caught up with them and rammed him again, sending both vehicles spinning.
They both stopped, and as Robertson tried to leave the vehicle, Jeffrey Seideman backed up and rammed Robertson’s vehicle once more, smashing Robertson’s hand in the door frame.
Jennifer Seideman corroborated Robertson’s story, according to the court records.
The deputy asked Robertson why it took him eight hours to finally call 911 about what happened.
He said they didn’t have cell phones, and didn’t have the clothes to walk back to Jennifer Seideman’s home in the freezing cold, so they slept in his vehicle until about 5:30 that morning, when it was light enough to walk home. Robertson told the deputy he thought Jeffrey Seideman was trying to kill him.
The deputy found and photographed the damage to Robertson’s vehicle, which he described as extensive in the affidavit.
Jeffrey Seideman’s next court date, an arraignment where he’ll be formally charged, has been set for Thursday.
