An Erratic, and Admittedly High, Male Safely Arrested for a Felony Warrant After Deciding to Follow Deputy’s Commands
A Spokane Valley Deputy contacted and arrested a male who was reportedly acting erratic and jumped out in front of the caller’s vehicle. At first, the male did not follow commands and appeared as if he planned to assault the lone Deputy. After several commands and warnings that a Taser would be used, the suspect made the choice to comply. He was booked into jail for a felony Department of Corrections Escape Community Custody warrant with an original charge of Assault 3rd Degree (law enforcement).
On April 30, 2021, at approximately 8:40 pm., Spokane Valley Deputy Davis French responded to the area of Montgomery and University Road for a report of a male who jumped in front of the caller’s vehicle. The caller stated the man seemed to be high or intoxicated, was acting erratically, and appeared to scare a female with a baby walking in the area.
Deputy French, already close to the location, began looking for the male, later identified as 35-year-old Cory J. Yeager. Deputy French heard Yeager yelling loudly before seeing him walking at a fast pace on the side of the road. He noted Yeager appeared very agitated as he screamed and waved his arms around in a highly animated fashion. Yeager was shirtless, extremely dirty, and sweating profusely.
Believing Yeager posed a danger to himself and others in the area, Deputy French, knowing his backup wasn’t close, decided to contact Yeager, who was now walking in the travel lane of the roadway.
Deputy French activated his emergency lights, identified himself, and told Yeager to stop. Yeager, appearing agitated and inconvenienced by the Deputy’s presence, turned his upper body back toward Deputy French, threw his arms in the air, and continued walking.
Yeager turned and hurriedly walked across both lanes of travel. Deputy French continued to order Yeager to stop. Yeager finally stopped, turned toward Deputy French, threw up his hands again, and said, “No.” before dropping his hands, now balled into fists, back to his sides.
With Yeager seeming to be preparing to assault Deputy French, he notified Spokane Regional Emergency Communications (SREC), he needed immediate assistance. As he tried to deescalate the situation, he could hear radio traffic that responding patrol units were still some distance away.
Seeing no change in Yeager’s demeanor, Deputy French drew his Taser and told Yeager to get on the ground, warning him that he would be tased if he did not comply. Yeager ignored the command and threw his hands in the air again as he stepped toward Deputy French.
Deputy French, wanting to give Yeager a final opportunity to comply, repeated the command to stop and get on the ground. Yeager reluctantly decided to follow this command and laid down on the ground. Deputy French maintained a safe distance until Deputy Joseph Adams arrived and helped take Yeager safely into custody.
Yeager told the Deputies he had smoked some marijuana earlier and thought it might have been laced with something.
A check of his name showed Yeager had an active felony Washington Department of Corrections Escaped Community Custody warrant with an original charge of Assault 3rd Degree (law enforcement).
Yeager was transported and booked into the Spokane County Jail for his warrant.