Yelm man accused of kidnapping girlfriend Friday

A 22-year-old Yelm man was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and first-degree assault Friday after he allegedly crashed his car into a vehicle carrying his girlfriend in the area of 3rd Way SE, forced her into his car, and then ran over the driver of the second vehicle, breaking the man's leg, according to the Thurston County Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff's deputies arrested the suspect, Rian Thomas Rogers, after a foot chase Friday that ended in the 9100 block of Steilacoom Road, Thurston County Sheriff's Lt. Greg Elwin said.

According to Elwin:

The incident began about 5 p.m. Friday, when deputies were called out to a disturbance in a cul-de-sac on 3rd Way SE. Investigation revealed that a woman was getting a ride home from work to her home in the 900 block of Gina Court SE, but when she saw Rogers waiting in front of her home in his vehicle, she told her co-worker to keep driving.

Rogers followed the vehicle, and rammed it twice in the cul-de-sac on 3rd Way. The girlfriend, her co-worker, and Rogers all got out of their respective vehicles. Rogers grabbed his girlfriend and forced her into his vehicle. Elwin said witnesses reported a knife may have been involved. As the co-worker tried to intervene, Rogers drove his car straight at the co-worker and struck him. The man suffered a broken leg and was transported to Providence St. Peter Hospital.

Rogers took the woman back to her home on Gina Court. Deputies arrived, and as deputies were knocking on the door, Rogers fled the residence on foot. A K9 found Rogers hiding in some bushes in the 9100 block of Steilacoom Road, and he was placed under arrest.

Jeremy Pawloski: 360-754-5445 jpawloski@theolympian.com