KENNEWICK — The man accused of stealing a police cruiser and leading officers on a chase across the Tri-Cities swore at officials and refused to cooperate in his initial court appearance Wednesday afternoon.
Christoffer Noel Pearson, 39, of Kennewick, was scheduled to have his first day in court on Tuesday, but wouldn’t come out of his jail cell, said jail officials.
On Wednesday, the Tri-City native was taken from his cell to a room in the jail to appear by video link for a Benton County Superior Court hearing.
But the hearing was brief.
Pearson appeared enraged and quickly began swearing, tried to hide from the camera and declined to answer questions from Judge Joseph Burrowes, who found him to be “belligerent to the court.”
Pearson eventually left the hearing before the Burrowes could read him his rights and the allegations.
“It appears we have an agitated individual who is swearing to the court, obviously not listening to the court. There may be some issues with respect to his competency at this juncture. I don’t know. I’m going to appoint the Office of Public Defense,” Burrowes said.
And he set his bail at $100,000.
Pearson, 39, is facing more than three dozen charges, including felonies for three counts of second-degree assault, two counts of malicious mischief, car theft, attempting to elude officers and first-degree robbery.
The misdemeanor allegations include obstructing law enforcement, resisting arrest, DUI and 27 counts of misusing the 911 system, according to the jail roster.
He’s set return to court on July 28, though a competency evaluation request is expected to be filed, which would pause the case until he’s evaluated.
Knife confrontation
The allegations stem from two incidents on Monday.
Starting about 1 p.m. Monday, dispatchers say Pearson began calling 911 over several hours, screaming at dispatchers and making homicidal threats, say court documents.
Officers tried talking with him at his apartment on South Newport Street about 6 p.m., but he refused to come outside.
Police were called two hours later after someone saw Pearson breaking windows at the apartment. He began walking down 10th Avenue, cussing at passersby while holding several knives.
Police say he then threatened them with the knives, first swinging at them and then hurling them, said court documents. He also stabbed and slashed the hood of a patrol car.
When officers tried to give him some space, he managed to get into a patrol car and drive off.
Police pursuit
Officers followed and the chase reached speeds up to 90 mph. At times Pearson drove into oncoming traffic hearing into Richland, said investigators.
Eventually, officers forced his car to spin out and he finally stopped on the 2300 block of Stevens Drive, though not before hitting several police cars.
A K-9 dog was used to help take Pearson into custody, said police.
The car he’s accused of stealing had extensive interior damage to the seats and onboard computer, said officials.
Pearson allegedly told officer he had taken marijuana, fentanyl and heroin to deal with some pain.
Court documents show Pearson has an extensive juvenile record, including several misdemeanor charges in Benton and Franklin counties.
A 2014 Benton County charge for assaulting a police officer was dismissed after about a year when Pearson was declared incompetent after two court-ordered evaluation periods and a mandatory medication order.
