The man who led police on a chase through Salem, smashing his RV into three patrol cars and prompting multiple officers to fire their weapons, has been arrested on attempted aggravated murder charges and a number of assault and hit-and-run charges.
Separately, a Marion County grand jury unanimously found Monday that four Salem police officers were justified in using deadly force against Roy Victor Devoursney, 61, who tried to elude police during the chase on Saturday, Jan. 27.
Devoursney had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.198 percent when he was speeding in a motorhome down Highway 22 near Lancaster Drive SE, cutting off other vehicles and driving erratically, according to Salem Police.
In Oregon, a person is considered under the influence when their blood alcohol hits 0.08 percent.
During interviews with police at Salem Hospital following the crash, he told officers that he purposely rammed into patrol cars in an attempt to flee the scene.
Devoursney is facing two counts of attempted aggravated murder for driving the motorhome into two patrol cars with officers behind the wheel, two counts of assaulting a police officer, first-degree assault, second-degree assault, two counts of failure to perform duties of a driver to injured persons, fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, driving while under the influence of intoxicants and reckless driving, according to Marion County court records.
A Marion County probable cause statement details the incident:
Salem Police Department dispatch received a call of a reckless driver heading westbound on Highway 22 in Salem around 12:54 p.m.
The vehicle was described as being a white motorhome that was reportedly swerving, speeding and nearly hitting other vehicles. The motorhome was registered to Devoursney.
Responding officers found Devoursney behind the wheel of his Ford Holiday Rambler near his home on the 1900 block of Kansas Avenue NE shortly after dispatch received the report.
When officers tried contacting Devoursney, he rammed the patrol vehicle of Salem police Cpl. Andrew Connolly so hard the airbags deployed, police said. Devoursney drove away.
Another Salem officer, Cpl. Mark Seyfried, found the motorhome along D Street NE, where Devoursney put the motorhome in reverse and hit Seyfried's vehicle, fleeing again, police said.
At this time, Sgt. Welsh, Cpl. Seyfried and Officer Hodges fired at Devoursney in an attempt to stop what the district attorney's office called a "vehicular attack."
Devoursney drove the motorhome away from the area and drove through the surrounding streets and back toward the officers for the third time. Sgt. Welsh and Cpl. Connolly shot at the motorhome again, but Devoursney continued to drive the vehicle away from the area, according to the district attorney's office.
To stop the motorhome, authorities deployed spike strips that blew out some of its tires. The motorhome came to a stop along Hawthorne Avenue NE in front of Pietro's Pizza, to the south of Market Street NE, police said.
Devoursney left the motorhome but didn’t comply with authorities, so he was tased and taken into custody.
Devoursney was taken into custody around 1:20 p.m. and taken to Salem Hospital with injuries, where he was interviewed by detectives.
Devoursney told investigators he felt suicidal and was contemplating suicide by cop, according to the probable cause statement.
He was lodged in Marion County Jail on Thursday night, Feb. 1.
The Marion County grand jury heard a full day of testimony Monday from witnesses including the Salem police officers and an Oregon State Police detective who led the investigation.
The jury reviewed other evidence including photographs and physical items collected from the scene. The same jury also indicted Devoursney on his charges.
Cpl. Seyfried sustained a broken wrist and leg after his patrol car was rammed. He was taken to the Salem Hospital and released later that night, according to Lt. Dave Okada. Cpl. Connolly was treated for a concussion and other injuries and was released later that evening.
Devoursney was treated at Salem Health for a head laceration and was transported to Marion County Jail directly following his hospital release.
Devoursney's left brow bone and cheek were bruised in his Marion County booking shot. It is unclear what caused the facial injuries.
The pursuit left a number of patrol cars damaged and multiple city and residential streets closed for several hours the day of the incident.
At the Hawthorne Avenue NE scene, the motorhome was pulled over to the far right lane and had a number of flat tires. What appeared to be one bullet hole could be seen on the motorhome's front window.
A Salem Police patrol car rested just a few hundred feet away after it appeared to have driven over the curb and into a wooden sign before coming to a stop in front of the Pietro's Pizza. A pair of jeans with a belt still attached lay in the middle of the road nearby.
About a mile away, two additional crime scenes closed down residential streets in Salem.
At least one Salem Police patrol vehicle was damaged on Breys Avenue NE, with the driver door still swung open late Saturday afternoon. Glass and debris littered the ground underneath the nose of the vehicle.
Just over a block from the Breys Avenue scene, on Kansas Street NE, at least one other Salem Police patrol vehicle was damaged.
Following Salem Police's policy, Oregon State Police is investigating the officer-involved shooting. Marion County District Attorney officials were on the scene.
Devoursney is in Marion County Jail on no bail. He is scheduled for a plea hearing at the Marion County Court Annex on at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday with Judge Daniel Wren.
The district attorney's office will not release additional information regarding the shooting pending the ongoing investigation.
Email Lauren Hernandez at lehernande@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-399-6743 or follow on Twitter @LaurenPorFavor