Man gets 15 years in jail for 8 felonies and gross misdemeanor charges

A Lakewood man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for eight felony charges and a gross misdemeanor committed in Thurston County last year and in Pierce County between 2020 and 2022.

The Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said Robert Forgey pleaded guilty to second-degree assault with a law enforcement aggravator, first-degree malicious mischief, attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle, hit and run, second-degree possessing stolen property, and two counts each of second-degree burglary and possession of a stolen motor vehicle.

Three of the felonies were committed in Thurston County in March 2022. Pierce County transferred the five other charges to Thurston County.

The court also ordered that Forgey be supervised by the Department of Corrections for 18 months after serving his sentence.

On March 19 last year, Yelm police were dispatched to an auto theft at CHS Northwest after Forgey was seen driving away in a Ford F550 propane truck owned by the company.

The officer tried to initiate a traffic stop, but the truck accelerated and drove into oncoming lanes. The pursuit was terminated due to its dangerous nature, but authorities placed spike strips that punctured the truck’s front tires and appeared to stop the vehicle.

However, when the officer exited his vehicle to contact Forgey, the defendant placed the truck in reverse and rammed into the patrol car, which got totaled. Forgey then continued to drive erratically into oncoming lanes, striking an uninvolved vehicle.

Officers said Forgey appeared to be “using the vehicle as a battering ram.” Police attempted multiple maneuvers but were unsuccessful due to the truck’s size and weight.

Police continued to chase after the truck until it crashed into the wall of the McKenna bridge. At that point, Forgey exited the vehicle and jumped off the bridge into the Nisqually River, where he swam north as an officer followed him on foot. He was eventually detained.