Second suspect in court for stolen police car incident

Published 4:55 pm Monday, November 24, 2008

By Ruth Longoria

A 33-year-old Seattle man will be arraigned tomorrow, Thursday, March 31, as the second of two men charged in the Feb. 1 police chase involving theft of a Mercer Island police car and a second vehicle, as well as a gun stolen from a state trooper in a vehicle prowl two weeks earlier.

Christopher Michael Urga is being held into King County Jail in Seattle in lieu of $250,000 bail. He is considered an extreme flight risk and a danger to the community, according to court documents.

Urga is charged with first-degree theft, first-degree possession of stolen property, rendering criminal assistance and resisting arrest, as well as being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Urga was in a work release program when he and another suspect, Reinhard Georg Wysgoll, 22, of Seattle, allegedly committed the crimes. Urga was previously scheduled for prison release March 15. He has an extensive arrest record, including seven felony convictions for assault, motor vehicle theft, attempting to elude and burglary.

At about 2 a.m. on Feb. 1, Mercer Island Police Officer John Pritchard began a pursuit of a Ford Explorer being driven erratically on I-90. The vehicle, allegedly driven by Urga, had been reported stolen Jan. 22 from a Seattle hotel.

During the chase, the Explorer turned around, broke through several barriers and drove eastbound in the westbound lanes. The vehicle stopped in the Mount Baker Tunnel, where the driver and passenger took off running in different directions.

Though the second suspect was tackled to the ground by Pritchard, he escaped when Urga allegedly stole Pritchard’s vehicle and rammed it into another police vehicle. Pritchard shot out the tires of the police vehicle, but after the car stopped, the driver escaped on foot. Officer Manord Rucker, shot Wysgoll as he also allegedly attempted to flee.

Urga was arrested in a Seattle apartment by Shoreline police and King County Sheriff’s deputies later that week and returned to King County Jail, where he was wanted by the Department of Corrections on an escape warrant.

According to court documents: The stolen state trooper’s gun, with Urga’s fingerprints, was found in the Explorer. Urga’s fingerprints were found on and inside both vehicles. Witnesses also tied Urga to the case, saying he bragged of being in a televised police chase that day.

On Feb. 3, Wysgoll was arrested. He pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree car theft and third-degree escape on Feb. 15. Wysgoll posted $10,000 bail and was released from King County Jail on the same day.

According to court documents: Wysgoll told police he was in the stolen vehicle driven by Urga during the original police pursuit. He later did as he was told when Urga told him to get in the stolen police car. Wysgoll said he repeatedly told Urga to stop the vehicle and refused Urga’s orders to shoot at police with a shotgun that was in the stolen police car.

Wysgoll was transported to Harborview Medical Center after the incident for two non-life-threatening gunshot wounds he received from police during the incident.

Officer Rucker, who shot Wysgoll, also shot suspects in the Island’s only other two officer-involved shootings since 1985. In both incidents, the suspects survived and department reviews justified Rucker’s actions. Rucker is a veteran officer who has received a Medal of Valor and a Distinguished Service Award from the department.

Rucker and Pritchard were placed on paid administrative leave, standard procedure in shooting incidents. They both returned to work about one week later, after psychological tests. An officer-involved-shooting investigation, conducted by Bellevue police, is almost finished. That report clears the officers pending final lab tests, said Ron Elsoe, Mercer Island Public Safety director.

As per police policy, an in-house internal review board also is conducting an investigation to make sure the officers followed procedures. That investigation also is nearly completed, Elsoe said.