PORTLAND, Ore. — Police arrested a 32-year-old accused of running away during a traffic stop in northeast Portland before barricading himself inside someone's home Monday night.
Shortly before 6 p.m., officers tried to stop a vehicle with no license plates near Southeast 92nd Avenue and Southeast Stark Street for a traffic violation, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) said. The driver, who PPB later identified as Levi Jon Lapage, sped away but was tracked by the police agency's plane.
Police managed to spike the vehicle's tires near the Glisan Street onramp to Interstate 205, PPB said, but Lapage exited the freeway and ran away on foot near Northeast 112nd Avenue and Northeast Siskiyou Street.
Lapage ran inside a home in that area and shut himself inside, according to PPB. The residents of the home managed to make it out unhurt.
Police surrounded the house and called in the Special Emergency Reaction Team (SERT) — Portland's answer to SWAT — and crisis negotiators. SERT members found Lapage hiding in the attic of a garage and took him into custody.
Lapage is charged with attempting to elude by vehicle, attempting to elude on foot, burglary in the first degree, and two counts of identity theft. PPB said Lapage also had a valid felony warrant from the Oregon State Parole Board for identity theft. Additional charges may be added as police continue to investigate.
PPB said officers found a vest with armor plating, a disassembled assault rifle, rifle rounds, and a loaded drum style magazine inside the vehicle Lapage was driving.
The case is similar to one that happened less than a week prior, when an alleged carjacker broke into a home, forcing the homeowner to run out, and barricaded himself inside. It led to an hours-long standoff that ended when the SERT team entered the home and found the suspect hiding in the attic.
Download the KGW News app: Download for iPhone here | Download for Android here
Stream newscasts for free on KGW+ on Roku and Amazon Fire: How to add app to your device here
See a typo in this article? Email web@kgw.com for corrections
