WATCH: Lewis County judge tackles suspect in courthouse after attempting to flee

Judge tackles suspect, prosecutor helps detain

LEWIS COUNTY JUDGE TACKLES MAN WHO FLED COURTROOM, PROSECUTOR HELPS DETAIN: Security footage from the Lewis County Law and Justice Center released to The Chronicle via a public records request on Monday shows Lewis County District Court Judge R.W. Buzzard tackle an escapee who was attacking Court Security Officer Jamey McGinty outside the elevators on the fourth floor of the building on Thursday. The footage also shows Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer enter the fray to help Buzzard and McGinty restrain the escapee before law enforcement personnel arrived. The footage shows Chance Justin Smith, 29, of Chehalis, flee from Judge Joely Yeager’s courtroom on the fourth floor of the Lewis County Law and Justice Center in Chehalis at approximately 11:41 a.m., after Yeager remanded Smith into custody for failing to provide proof that he completed his court-mandated mental health treatment. Smith, pursued by McGinty, is seen running to the elevator and pressing the button. McGinty is seen drawing his Taser and pointing it at Smith. Smith then points and yells at McGinty while standing in front of the elevator. Meyer and Smith’s court appointed defense attorney, Christopher Baum, are then seen exiting Yeager’s courtroom. Smith is seen gesturing and speaking to McGinty, Meyer and Baum, pressing the elevator button multiple times and then getting into the elevator once the door opens. The interior of the elevator is not visible in the court security footage. McGinty then sheaths his Taser and he, Meyer and Baum approach the elevator door. McGinty is seen holding the elevator door open with his arm. McGinty, Meyer and Baum stand around the elevator door speaking to Smith for several seconds. While the confrontation continues at the elevator, Buzzard enters the frame from the direction of the stairs and approaches the group. Smith is then seen surging out of the elevator door, punching and pushing McGinty back towards the courtroom. Buzzard is then seen tackling Smith from behind and helping McGinty take him to the ground in an alcove between the elevator and the court clerk’s desk. The footage then shows Meyer get on top of Smith to help Buzzard and McGinty restrain him. Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead is then seen exiting Yeager’s courtroom and moving to stand beside Baum, blocking off the alcove. Other court personnel gather around the scene in the several minutes it takes law enforcement personnel to arrive and arrest Smith. Deputies with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office are seen arriving and taking over restraining Smith at approximately 11:52 a.m., according to the timestamp on the security footage. Officers with the Chehalis Police Department are seen arriving at approximately 11:55 a.m. All law enforcement personnel clear the scene, with Smith in custody, at approximately 12:02 p.m., according to the video’s timestamp. Lewis County Jail records indicate Smith was booked into the jail at approximately 12:05 p.m. Thursday’s incident marks at least the third time Buzzard has personally restrained a subject in the Lewis County Law and Justice Center. Buzzard physically restrained a party in a civil case who assaulted the opposing attorney in April 2018, and he gave chase after two inmates who fled a court hearing in October 2018, grabbing one of the inmates just before he left the building. The second escapee was caught a couple blocks away.

Posted by The Chronicle on Monday, June 2, 2025