Story Photos
 Photo by Greg Ebersole Michelle Nelson walks away after looking at what was to be her wedding gift from her fiance, Chris Thomas: a Corvette which was stolen and wrecked Tuesday morning. |
Stolen Dreams
Wednesday, August 27, 2003 11:42 AM PDT
By Leslie Slape
Printable version
E-mail this articleLongview police dog Reno must know the scent of William Allan Repp Jr. very well. He's caught him four times, according to police.
The latest incident involved a fully restored 1980 Chevrolet Corvette, the intended wedding gift of Chris Thomas to his bride, Michelle Nelson, both of Longview. They're getting married Thursday.
"My stomach's sick. I feel like I was run over," Nelson, 25, said Tuesday.
Her fiance, also 25, tried to be philosophical.
"It's just a car -- what am I going to take with me when I die? I'm not taking anything out of this world," he said. "But it makes you sick. You can't have something nice. Somebody always wants it more than you do."
Thomas was in the process of buying the car from Nelson's mother, Merry Hargant of Longview. She got a stomach-turning wakeup call from Longview police after a 5 a.m. car chase, which ended with the 'Vette smashed beyond repair and the suspect, Repp, getting bitten by Reno.
"It was really scary," Nelson said. "My mom thought we had been driving it. My mom called his mom, and they were really scared."
Longview police soon determined the 'Vette had been stolen at around 4:30 a.m. from a parking lot behind the 1300 block of Commerce Avenue, where Thomas lives. Nelson had brought the car over earlier and Thomas drained the brake fluid because the car needed some work.
"He stole a car that wasn't even ready to be out on the road," Thomas said.
Lack of brake fluid became a serious problem for the suspect after Officer Jason Ferriss, who was operating a radar device in the 2500 block of Pacific Way, saw the Corvette approaching at what the radar showed as 78 mph. The posted speed is 35 mph.
In his report, Ferriss said he activated his lights, saw the vehicle speed up, then turned on his siren and began pursuit. He said his speedometer reached 120 mph but the Corvette was pulling away at an estimated 140 mph when it missed a corner in the 3100 block of Pacific Way.
"There was no stopping at that high of speed," said Nelson, who can't believe Repp wasn't killed. "It's always those people who never get hurt."
"The car flew 20 feet in the air and hit a tree branch. It took a quarter-mile stretch for him to slow down," said Thomas, who went to the scene and took photos of skid marks, ripped-out shrubbery in numerous yards, and the car's muffler dangling from a tree in the 3200 block.
The driver fled on foot, and Officer Steve Dennis and Reno responded to assist. Reno tracked Repp approximately 40 yards to the slough and found him hiding under sticker bushes, police said.
Repp was taken to St. John Medical Center for treatment of dog bite wounds and injuries sustained in the accident. Officers then took him to the Cowlitz County Jail, where he was booked on suspicion of felony eluding, taking a motor vehicle without permission, reckless driving, obstructing an officer, resisting arrest and third-degree driving with a suspended license. Bail was set at $35,000.
Dennis reported that this was the fourth time Reno has captured Repp after he ran from police. For the last incident, in October 2001, Repp received a five-day jail sentence and a $400 fine for reckless driving and resisting arrest.
Nelson said the car was fully insured in her mother's name because she's still the registered owner.
She said she and Thomas cleaned the car up last week in preparation for the wedding.
"It was waxed. We took dozens of pictures," she said.
"We were just ready to join that Corvette club," Thomas said, "cause everybody waves at you when you drive a Corvette."
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