Man convicted of assaulting deputy pleads to ID theft

A transient man convicted of trying to run over a sheriff’s deputy in a stolen patrol car pleaded guilty Friday to unrelated identity theft charges.

Raymond H. Hall agreed to plead guilty and accept a combined 23-year prison sentence in both cases to avoid further prosecution in Multnomah County, Ore. He’s facing several identity theft charges there, and Oregon prosecutors agreed to not seek more prison time if he resolved his Clark County cases.

“I didn’t see it ending up like this,” defense attorney Jeff Sowder said. But “Mr. Hall thinks it advantageous” to accept the plea deal.

Sentencing before Clark County Superior Court Judge John Wulle was set for Aug. 23.

Hall, 30, who has an extensive criminal record, was convicted by a jury April 22 of second-degree assault, third-degree assault and unlawful possession of a firearm. The charges concerned an incident Dec. 26, when Hall’s pickup was stopped by a patrol deputy in Hazel Dell for having defective brake lights.

After running from the truck, Hall climbed inside Deputy Rob Ternus’ patrol car. As Ternus stood in front of the car, commanding Hall to exit, the defendant sped toward him.

Ternus jumped out of the way and fired his gun, grazing Hall’s torso with a round.

Hall’s possession of a firearm charge resulted from the deputy having a rifle in his patrol car when Hall stole the car.

The theft charges relate an identity theft ring that Hall was part of from September to November, said Senior Deputy Prosecutor Alan Harvey said.