A Magistrate reduced the bond of a Florida man accused of crashing a stolen truck into a porch after leading police on a chase through Westover and Morgantown from $150,000 to $60,000 during a preliminary hearing on Thursday.
Cody Grimmett, 23, of Mount Dora, Fla., is charged with fleeing from an officer with reckless indifference, malicious assault, destruction of property and receiving or transferring stolen property.
Assistant Prosecutor Brandon Benchoff said he would leave it to Magistrate Jim Nabors to decide if $150,000 bond was an unduly burdensome amount but said there should be a significant bond to secure Grimmett’s appearance.
Benchoff pointed out Grimmett’s extensive criminal history starting when he was a juvenile. Some of those cases appeared on his record, meaning he was prosecuted as an adult, Benchoff said. Grimmett also has convictions for fleeing from an officer, resisting an officer, theft and burglary, as well as a fugitive warrant out of Florida for allegedly stealing the truck he’s accused of crashing.
Nabors said he understood the state’s concerns and set $15,000 bond per charge. He ruled the bail must be posted by a bondsman in case someone had to go to Florida and get Grimmett.
Deputy Jacob Coe testified about the events leading up to Grimmett’s arrest.
He said Westover Police initially started looking for a white pickup truck — driven by a white man with a black shirt and a female passenger wearing a camo jacket — because someone called 911 and said he was being chased by that truck after a dispute over a couch Grimmett was trying to sell him.
The couch was in the bed of the truck throughout the duration of the chase, Coe testified.
Coe did not know more details of that encounter, he told defense attorney Bill Pennington.
An officer with Westover Police attempted to stop the truck, but it didn’t pull over and started traveling towards Morgantown via the Westover Bridge. Coe testified he and another deputy, Jesse Coe, joined the chase after the truck, which swerved to avoid traffic throughout the chase, crossed into Morgantown.
The chase continued up Pleasant Street and across the bridge into South Park, Coe said. The truck ended up on Dewey Street, which is a dead end. Jesse saw the truck’s reverse lights come on and attempted to back his cruiser up but was unable to move out of the way in time and the truck crashed into his cruiser, causing “significant damage.”
Jesse had just taken his seatbelt off because he thought the occupants of the truck were going to get out and either run on foot or surrender, Coe said. Jesse went to the hospital after the incident but was not admitted. Grimmett was also taken to the hospital following his arrest because he was involved in a crash.
The truck pushed the cruiser back until it could make a left turn and eventually lost control and crashed into a porch, taking out a supporting beam, while turning onto Brockway Avenue, Coe testified.
Both suspects were spotted running away from the accident towards Deckers Creek. The West Virginia State Police and Granville Police both helped search for the suspects. The state police found wet boot prints on a concrete pad across the creek, which led towards an abandoned building, Coe said.
Granville brought a K9 and, while clearing the building, found Grimmett, soaking wet and wearing a black shirt, who told officers he was homeless and sleeping outside. Grimmett, who gave a fake name at the time, said he was wet because of the rain. Coe noted it had not rained that day.
At the hospital, Grimmett gave his actual name, which was run through a criminal database and showed a warrant for his arrest from Florida for grand theft auto. The license plate of the truck Grimmett was allegedly driving in the chase matched the stolen truck in that instance, Coe said.
Nabors found probable cause to forward the case to Circuit Court. The case will be presented to a grand jury, which will decide if the prosecution moves forward.
