State of Washington v. Jacob Zacharia Dite

Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided August 17, 2023·No. 38878-6·Unpublished

Opinion

FILED

AUGUST 17, 2023

In the Office of the Clerk of Court WA State Court of Appeals, Division III

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON DIVISION THREE

STATE OF WASHINGTON, )

) No. 38878-6-III Respondent, )

)

v. )

)

JACOB ZACHARIA DITE, ) UNPUBLISHED OPINION )

Appellant. )

SIDDOWAY, J.P.T.⁎ — Jacob Dite challenges his conviction for attempting to elude a police vehicle and the jury’s finding of an endangerment aggravator. He challenges the sufficiency of the evidence and, for the first time on appeal, objects to closing statements of the prosecutor that he argues are reversible misconduct. His final challenge is related to his request, following the guilty verdicts, that the court impose the parenting sentencing alternative (PSA) authorized by RCW 9.94A.655. He contends that the court’s refusal to impose the alternative, without first requesting information on any

⁎ Judge Laurel H. Siddoway was a member of the Court of Appeals at the time argument was held on this matter. She is now serving as a judge pro tempore of the court pursuant to RCW 2.06.150.

No. 38878-6-III State v. Dite

history of his abusing or neglecting children as provided by RCW 9.94A.655(4), requires resentencing.

Whatever the meaning of RCW 9.94A.655(4), any alleged error in following it is subject to RAP 2.5(a). It is undesirable to resolve its meaning in this appeal, where the alleged need for the request was never raised and the trial court had no opportunity to address it.

For that reason and because the State’s evidence was sufficient and the complained-of statements by the prosecutor were not flagrant and ill intentioned, we affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Jacob Dite was charged with attempting to elude a police vehicle with an endangerment aggravator, after his flight from a traffic stop was ended with a “PIT” maneuver1 and he was apprehended. Chewelah Police Officer James Glover had been on patrol shortly after midnight one morning in March 2021, when he ran the license plate of a Hyundai Elantra he saw in the parking lot of the Chewelah Casino. A male driver was at the wheel. The Department of Licensing (DOL) return showed the vehicle was registered to “Jacob Dite,” who had a suspended driver’s license. Officer Glover had a clear view of the driver, who appeared to be Mr. Dite based on the driver’s license photo

1

“PIT” is an acronym for pursuit intervention technique.

No. 38878-6-III State v. Dite

returned from DOL. Officer Glover decided to leave the parking lot, park on Highway 395, and watch to see if Mr. Dite drove away.

Officer Glover saw Mr. Dite drive out of the lot and travel north on Highway 395.

The officer followed and saw Mr. Dite turn left on Quarry Browns Lake Road. The DOL return had provided a Springdale address for Dite, so Officer Glover anticipated his route and drove to Market Road, where he waited in a residential driveway. When Mr. Dite drove past, the officer activated his lights and initiated a traffic stop.

Mr. Dite pulled over, and Officer Glover reported the license plate and stop to dispatch. The officer then got out of his patrol car and walked toward the Hyundai, when Mr. Dite suddenly “accelerated hard” and took off. Rep. of Proc. (RP) at 82. Officer Glover jumped back into his patrol car and began pursuit with his lights and sirens activated.

He followed the Elantra southbound on Farm to Market Road, toward Waitts Lake. During the pursuit, Officer Glover recorded Mr. Dite’s speed using his radar, clocking him at speeds of up to 80 and 85 m.p.h. Mr. Dite slowed down some when navigating turns, but always reaccelerated on straightaways. The chase proceeded down Farm to Market Road, right on Wrights Valley Road, left on Red Marble Road, a sharp right onto Smola Road, and right onto Quarry Browns Lake Road. The roads were mostly dry and clear, but there was some snow and sand accumulation along roadsides.

No. 38878-6-III State v. Dite

Once on Quarry Browns Lake Road, Mr. Dite was heading east, back toward Highway 395, when he slammed on his brakes and took a sudden turn onto Bundy Road.

Mr. Dite sped back up to about 30 m.p.h. on the initial straight section of Bundy Road before entering the first corner. Rounding the corner, he encountered deer and slammed on his brakes. A collision was avoided, but Mr. Dite slid off the road into the shoulder. He recovered and returned to the road, regaining his speed as he continued north.

Bundy Road is a dead end and Mr. Dite soon reached the end of the pavement. He tried to turn around but ended up backing onto a snow berm. As Mr. Dite tried to rock his vehicle back and forth to dislodge it, Officer Glover engaged in the PIT maneuver, inching his patrol car forward until Mr. Dite’s vehicle was pinned to the berm. Once pinned, Mr. Dite stopped trying to escape and threw his hands up.

Officer Glover approached and ordered Mr. Dite out of the car. He saw that Mr.

Dite had a female passenger who turned out to be Santana Flett, Mr. Dite’s girlfriend, with whom he has two children. Asked why he fled, Mr. Dite responded that he had an outstanding warrant for his arrest and hoped to get home to see his children before going to jail. He was mistaken about the warrant; there was none.

The State charged Mr. Dite with one count of driving while license suspended in the third degree and one count of attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle with aggravating circumstances. The aggravating circumstance charged was that “one or more

No. 38878-6-III State v. Dite

persons other than the defendant or the pursuing law enforcement officer were threatened with physical injury or harm,” as provided by RCW 9.94A.834(1). Clerk’s Papers (CP) at 2.

At the trial of the charges, Officer Glover testified that during the pursuit, Mr. Dite reached speeds of 80 to 85 m.p.h. on roads posted at 40 m.p.h. Mr. Dite would slow down a bit and return to his proper lane to take corners, but would consistently move to the oncoming lane on the straightaways. Officer Glover testified that Mr. Dite was not making corners cleanly; he was skidding out. He testified that visibility for both drivers was limited during the pursuit for a couple of reasons: all they had to drive by was their headlights, and the ability to see around corners was limited by the topography. Most of the pursuit took place on curves, not straightaways.

On Mr. Dite’s turn onto Smola Road, Officer Glover testified that Mr. Dite had to brake hard and the officer did not think he would make the turn because he was going so fast. Mr. Dite slid through the intersection at that point and “almost into the ditch.” RP at 87. His turn onto Bundy Road was also “not controlled at all,” according to Officer Glover, who described Mr. Dite as ending up far on the shoulder. RP at 88. Officer Glover testified that after being stopped, Mr. Dite told him he had been driving in the wrong lane of traffic all the time because he hoped that would make the officer stop chasing him.

No. 38878-6-III State v. Dite

Officer Glover testified to his emergency driving training, and the prosecutor questioned him about the danger presented by driving at high speeds. The officer testified that as speeds increase, less of the tire has contact with the roadway, so with higher speed, there is less traction, and “a lot less control.” RP at 94. High speed also increases the danger of injury from an accident because of the increased blunt force trauma—“the faster you are going, anytime you hit something there’s opposite energy that comes through.” RP at 95.

Mr. Dite did not testify, but Ms. Flett, who the State argued was the “person[ ]

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