Early morning crash yields passenger with felony warrant

After a Lacey man crashed through a fence early Wednesday morning he threatened a Good Samaritan who attempted to help him, police say.

The man’s passenger was identified by the police as being wanted on a Washington State Department of Corrections felony warrant.

Theron Matson, 28, had multiple people report his April 28, 5:33 a.m. collision on Hoffman Rd SE in Olympia, where he ran off of the road and wrecked his 2001 Chevron S10 through a fence. One of those calling 911, Robert Warren, stated that he stopped to help Matson, only to have him threaten to “beat him up.”

Olympia Police arrived to find the driver, Matson, along with his passenger Mark McLean, 32, and asked if they needed medical attention, which both declined. One of the officers recognized McLean from past interactions.

Matson’s story of attempting to brake with his truck “locking up” was not consistent with the skid marks, according to the police report. The officer wrote that she believed that Matson was traveling at a high rate of speed and did not see the stop sign in time to stop, causing the collision. The officer’s report also mentioned that on April 22, 2021, Matson had been involved in another collision, which resulted in his vehicle ending up in a ditch in Lacey.

A call to dispatch relayed that Matson was a convicted felon for taking a motor vehicle without permission and had an active misdemeanor warrant for Reckless Driving. His license was currently suspended.

McLean had an active Washington Department of Corrections felony warrant for Escape Community Custody out of Seattle for Identity theft with recent convictions for Criminal Impersonation, Felony Possession of a Stolen Motor Vehicle and Possession of Stolen Property. He also had two other misdemeanors for theft.

McLean was arrested for his DOC warrant and transported to the Nisqually Jail. Matson was cited for multiple infractions, both for the accident and for driving with license suspended, and released at the site.