Auto theft suspect pleads guilty, sentenced to jail time

EPHRATA — Patrick Hoffman, 32, of Moses Lake was sentenced Tuesday after entering guilty pleas for two felonies and one gross misdemeanor before Grant County Superior Court Judge Tyson Hill.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Hoffman stole a vehicle and attempted to elude law enforcement after finding the vehicle owner’s keys which she’d misplaced during this year’s Springfest at McCosh Park on May 26.

The vehicle’s owner Cassandra Sallis said in a statement prior to sentencing that she had placed the keys to the 2005 Mazda 6 in the pocket of her sweatshirt while attending Springfest. At some point, the keys had been misplaced.

The police report indicates that Sallis had contacted her husband and they were leaving the festival to get their spare keys when she noticed the car was missing. They then contacted law enforcement; a Moses Lake Police Department officer was dispatched to assist them and the report was completed at their home. When Sallis’s husband left to pick up their son from the festival venue, the vehicle was located in the parking lot of a fuel station on Stratford Road. 

The MLPD officer went to the station and attempted to stop the vehicle which then fled. To stop the vehicle, spike strips were deployed in front of it on Grape Drive near State Route 17. After the car continued it eventually went into a yard in the 500 block of Crestview Drive. 

Hoffman ran but two other people in the vehicle were captured at the place the vehicle had stopped. Hoffman was later located with the help of K9 Officer Uno in a shed in the backyard of a home in the 1700 block of Virginia Street. 

Hoffman indicated when he was handcuffed that he’d swallowed several fentanyl pills and paramedics were dispatched to ensure he didn’t overdose. 

During an on-scene interview with the officer, Hoffman said he had been at Springfest and found the keys to the vehicle on the ground near the park’s amphitheater. He used the key fob to locate the car and went to pick up his two friends. They then went to the fuel station where law enforcement found them and the chase began. 

Sallis said the incident had a significant negative impact on her son, who was supposed to receive the Mazda 6 as a graduation present. 

“Because the car was stolen, we no longer could give him this gift. That detrimentally affected his future. He is no longer going to the same college because of transportation plans and has no future plans for a job because he no longer has a car,” she said.

The vehicle sustained significant damage as a result of the road spikes and Hoffman running it into the yard where it was damaged on the front end, Sallis said. She was also concerned that fentanyl was in the vehicle and the substance represents a hazard. 

“This drug, as you may know, is dangerous for anyone even to touch. If we were to … try to fix this vehicle, I would not want my son’s health to be jeopardized because of any chemical that they carried on their bodies in the car,” Sallis said. 

She added that volunteers and places to turn in the keys were clearly marked and the theft of the vehicle had been a serious burden for the family, especially her son.

Hill said he felt Sallis explaining how the property crime impacted her family was important for people to understand. 

“I just want to say I really appreciate what you had to say,” Hill told Sallis. “That was a really good record of how we talk about property crimes differently from violent crimes, but that was a great record of how a property crime is more than just a car. It affects so many different things.”

Hoffman said he was sorry for his actions and said he “wasn’t in the right state of mind.” 

For Theft of a Motor Vehicle, a Class B felony, Hoffman was sentenced to six months in prison. For Attempting to Elude a Police Vehicle, a Class C felony, he received a five-month sentence. Both of those sentences are set to run concurrently. 

On the third charge of Obstructing a Law Enforcement Officer, Hoffman received a sentence of 364 days which was suspended for a two-year period. Under that suspension, he must behave in compliance with standards set by the court, including avoiding controlled substances.

Hoffman was also ordered to pay restitution to the Sallis family totaling just less than $5,200 and was ordered to set up a payment plan for that purpose through the Grant County Clerk’s office. He is also not allowed within 1,000 feet of Sallis’s son, his residence or his vehicle.

Hoffman has a 2015 conviction for Burglary in the Second Degree in King County for a burglary committed in December of 2014.

R. Hans "Rob" Miller may be contacted via email at editor@columbiabasinherald.com.