Man accused of getting ‘handsy’ with taxi driver, stealing taxi and eluding police

POCATELLO — A 34-year-old man was arrested aft a taxi driver said he was “handsy” and stole her car.

Matthew Jacob Lanham was charged pinch felony eluding a bid officer, misdemeanor excessive DUI, and misdemeanor operating a conveyance without nan owner’s consent.

On June 24, astir 7 p.m., a Pocatello Police serviceman was called to Buffalo Wild Wings aft a taxi driver said a drunk man, identified arsenic Lanham, was getting “handsy” pinch her, according to constabulary reports.

When nan serviceman arrived, he learned that Lanham had stolen nan taxi, a achromatic Mazda 6.

According to tribunal documents, nan serviceman saw nan Mazda driving toward them successful nan parking batch and tried to behaviour a postulation stop, but Lanham drove distant and “nearly struck nan Harbor Freight building.”

Lanham reportedly continued to velocity distant from nan area and drove westbound done nan parking lot, wherever he ran complete a curb. Police opportunity he drove connected nan median’s incorrect broadside to move northbound onto Yellowstone Avenue.

The serviceman turned connected his emergency lights and siren arsenic Lanham turned into nan Walmart parking batch and allegedly “accelerated toward pedestrians who were stepping successful nan parking batch and braked astatine nan past infinitesimal for a pedestrian who had to move retired of nan way.”

Lanham past turned south, past eastbound successful nan parking lot, almost hitting nan constabulary car earlier speeding away. He made an “abrupt left-handed move towards cement barriers,” and drove done nan barriers.

Court documents opportunity nan Mazda’s beforehand bumper was torn disconnected owed to nan impact, and Lanham past drove betwixt 2 cars arsenic nan serviceman tried to execute a PIT maneuver to extremity him.

A PIT maneuver is simply a pursuit maneuver wherever a constabulary car tin unit a fleeing car to move sideways abruptly, causing nan driver to suffer power and stop.

Lanham past “briefly mislaid control” but continued until turning eastbound onto Pole Line Road. He allegedly ran nan reddish ray astatine nan intersection and continued southbound until he mislaid control, hitting nan curb connected nan westbound broadside of nan road.

He past ran different reddish ray done nan intersection of Pole Line Road and West Quinn Road, constabulary said, hardly avoiding hitting different car.

A responding serviceman made different PIT maneuver, and Lanham allegedly braked and swerved his conveyance toward nan 2nd constabulary car.

The first serviceman tried to “pin” nan Mazda betwixt nan 2 constabulary cars, and nan Mazda was pushed onto nan eastbound broadside of Pole Line Road, wherever it came to an “abrupt stop.”

Lanham was past arrested and booked into nan Bannock County Jail but was released to pretrial supervision connected his ain recognizance nan adjacent day.

He is expected to look successful tribunal connected Aug. 13 for a preliminary hearing. If convicted, he could look up to six years successful prison.

Though Lanham has been charged pinch these crimes, it does not needfully mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed guiltless until they are proven guilty.