A man wanted for stealing a car is now also accused of leading deputies with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office on a slow 1/2 mile pursuit through a logging site north of Buxton in an excavator.
According to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Jesse B. Shaw already had three warrants for his arrest, related to delivery of meth in Clackamas County, eluding police out of Columbia County, and a state parole violation, and was wanted for stealing a car on Saturday.
Deputies found Shaw operating an excavator at a property off of NW John Lee Road. Ignoring demands by deputies to surrender, he drove off in the excavator, with the deputies in pursuit.
Many excavators have a top speed of between 3 and 5 mph, so the pursuit over 1/2 mile was followed by deputies on foot.
Eventually, Shaw stopped and was arrested on charges from an alleged car theft Saturday, his warrants, and today’s alleged attempt to elude police.
Shaw has found himself in the public eye for other high-profile arrests in the past. A spokesperson for the Washington County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to the Banks Post that he was the same man arrested in Vernonia in October 2015 following an overnight stand off with the county’s tactical team.
This story has been updated with a more accurate location (police said North of Banks; in fact, the area would better be described as north of Buxton), and notes on a past arrest.
Chas Hundley is the editor of the Banks Post and sister news publications the Gales Creek Journal and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.