Man accused of getting ‘handsy’ with taxi driver, stealing taxi and eluding police
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POCATELLO — A 34-year-old man was arrested after a taxi driver said he was “handsy” and stole her car.
Matthew Jacob Lanham was charged with felony eluding a peace officer, misdemeanor excessive DUI, and misdemeanor operating a vehicle without the owner’s consent.
On June 24, around 7 p.m., a Pocatello Police officer was called to Buffalo Wild Wings after a taxi driver said a drunk man, identified as Lanham, was getting “handsy” with her, according to police reports.
When the officer arrived, he learned that Lanham had stolen the taxi, a white Mazda 6.
According to court documents, the officer saw the Mazda driving toward them in the parking lot and tried to conduct a traffic stop, but Lanham drove away and “nearly struck the Harbor Freight building.”
Lanham reportedly continued to speed away from the area and drove west through the parking lot, where he ran over a curb. Police say he drove on the median’s wrong side to turn north onto Yellowstone Avenue.
The officer turned on his emergency lights and siren as Lanham turned into the Walmart parking lot and allegedly “accelerated toward pedestrians who were walking in the parking lot and braked at the last minute for a pedestrian who had to move out of the way.”
Lanham then turned south, then east in the parking lot, almost hitting the police car before speeding away. He made an “abrupt left-handed turn towards cement barriers,” and drove through the barriers.
Court documents say the Mazda’s front bumper was torn off due to the impact, and Lanham then drove between two cars as the officer tried to perform a PIT maneuver to stop him.
A PIT maneuver is a pursuit tactic where a police car can force a fleeing car to turn sideways abruptly, causing the driver to lose control and stop.
Lanham then “briefly lost control” but continued until turning east onto Pole Line Road. He allegedly ran the red light at the intersection and continued south until he lost control, hitting the curb on the west side of the road.
He then ran another red light through the intersection of Pole Line Road and West Quinn Road, police said, barely avoiding hitting another car.
A responding officer made another PIT maneuver, and Lanham allegedly braked and swerved his vehicle toward the second police car.
The first officer tried to “pin” the Mazda between the two police cars, and the Mazda was pushed onto the east side of Pole Line Road, where it came to an “abrupt stop.”
Lanham was then arrested and booked into the Bannock County Jail but was released to pretrial supervision on his own recognizance the next day.
He is expected to appear in court on Aug. 13 for a preliminary hearing. If convicted, he could face up to six years in prison.
Though Lanham has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.