Colville man arrested after chase into ditch

Rather be shot than go to prison:

Tuesday morning at approximately 2 a.m. Sgt. Chris Chapman from the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office observed a vehicle off the road near the intersection of Shawnee Road and Highway 195. Sgt. Chapman made contact with the driver of the vehicle identified as Jason R. Foster, 41, Colville, who indicated he was having car problems. Initial information provided by Foster did not seem to be consistent or make sense. The vehicle, which had been damaged and appeared to have been in a collision, was also registered out of Stevens County to someone other than Foster.

After contacting Stevens County to track down the registered owner of the vehicle, it was learned that Foster was the primary suspect in an attempted kidnapping and assault, which allegedly happened in Colville over Memorial Day weekend. According to the probable cause information from Stevens County, Foster allegedly abducted a coffee stand barista at knife point, forcing her into his vehicle. Only after a struggle was the barista able to get away.

Based on this information, officers tried to re-contact Foster but he immediately ran from them on foot. This initiated a foot pursuit through a field and into a drainage ditch near the side of the road. After continued noncompliance and struggle, officers utilized the Taser and ultimately ended up wrestling Foster to the ground before taking him into custody. Once Foster was secured, officers recovered a toy handgun from inside his jacket. Foster later told officers that it was his intention to have them shoot him rather than go back to prison.

After being transported to the Whitman County Jail, Foster was transferred into the custody of the Colville Police Department. Foster is currently a level three sex offender with a lengthy criminal history. He will also be facing charges of theft of an automobile, as the 2005 GMC Envoy he was driving at the time was reported stolen in Colville.