Plea offered in West End assault case of two officers

PORT ANGELES — A plea offer is on the table for Taylor Jacob Graham, the Forks man who allegedly assaulted a pair of West End officers last November.

Graham, 20, is charged on two counts of third-degree assault and single counts of attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle, obstructing a law enforcement officer and hit-and-run of an attended vehicle.

He allegedly kicked a Forks police officer and a La Push wildlife officer at Forks Community Hospital after his arrest Nov. 10, court papers said.

A third-degree assault charge stemming from an alleged attack on La Push Police Chief Bill Lyon was dismissed Jan. 14 on jurisdictional grounds because the alleged crime occurred inside Olympic National Park.

Graham is being held in the Clallam County jail on $5,000 bond.

His trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 8.

New plea offer

“I’ve received a new plea offer today, which I haven’t discussed yet with Mr. Graham,” defense attorney Loren Oakley told Superior Court Judge Christopher Melly in a Friday status hearing.

“I have to discuss the plea offer with my client.”

Melly scheduled another court hearing for 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Authorities had been looking for Graham because he had allegedly backed a truck into a car at an intersection in downtown Forks.

Lyon spotted Graham and the truck he was driving in the Rialto Beach parking lot.

Graham fled in the truck but became stuck in a ditch as he attempted a U-turn on Mora Road prior to the encounter with Lyon.

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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.

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