A 27-year-old Gresham man is facing kidnapping and multiple felony charges after allegedly stealing a car with a passenger still inside outside a Portland bar early Sept. 5, then leading sheriff's deputies on a chase that topped 100 mph before the vehicle ran out of gas near Scappoose. Tyrone Thompson was arrested by Washington County Sheriff's Office deputies after the pursuit, which stretched from U.S. 26 through Portland and onto U.S. 30.
The chase began around 2:45 a.m. when deputies conducting a Labor Day weekend drunk driving enforcement mission noticed two cars speeding on U.S. 26 near Southwest Murray Boulevard, according to The Oregonian/OregonLive. A driver of one of the cars flagged down a deputy and said the other vehicle, a black Mercedes, had just been stolen from outside a Portland bar and that her friend was still trapped inside, a detail also reported by KGW and by the Beaverton Valley Times.
Deputies located the stolen Mercedes and pursued it as it reached speeds above 100 mph, per the Oregonian/OregonLive report. Thompson allegedly took the passenger's phone as she tried to call for help, and the chase continued through Portland toward Scappoose on U.S. 30 before the car finally ran out of gas, allowing deputies to make the arrest. The passenger was found uninjured, according to the same report.
An Active Warrant Already Waiting
Thompson was already wanted by law enforcement at the time of the chase. He had been arrested in Gresham in late June 2026 for allegedly masturbating in front of a group home staff member and had repeatedly violated the conditions of his supervised release, according to KGW. An active arrest warrant for Thompson had been issued on Sept. 4, 2026 — the day before the car theft chase unfolded, the station reports.
The station also notes that Thompson has a documented history of being found mentally unfit to proceed in 2025 criminal cases in Lane County, and was ordered into community restoration for behavioral health treatment outside the Oregon State Hospital rather than being institutionalized. Oregon's community restoration system is designed to provide local behavioral health treatment for defendants deemed unfit for trial, a response to severe bed shortages and long backlogs at the state hospital, according to Disability Rights Oregon.
Formal Charges Filed Days After the Chase
On Sept. 8, the Washington County District Attorney's Office formally charged Thompson with second-degree kidnapping, unauthorized use of a vehicle, possession of a stolen vehicle, attempting to elude police, reckless driving, reckless endangerment, and second-degree criminal mischief, according to the Beaverton Valley Times.
The kidnapping charge carries the most severe potential consequence. Second-degree kidnapping in Oregon is a Class B felony that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 70 months in state prison upon conviction under Ballot Measure 11, per ORS 137.700. The unauthorized use of a vehicle charge is a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison and fines as high as $125,000 under ORS 164.135, while the criminal mischief count is a Class A misdemeanor covering property damage exceeding $500, carrying up to a year in jail and $6,250 in fines under ORS 164.354.
A Broader Pattern on Portland-Area Roads
The overnight patrol that intercepted Thompson wasn't a routine traffic stop. Deputies were deployed as part of a targeted, multi-agency holiday enforcement mission funded to detect impaired drivers along major corridors like Highway 26 over Labor Day weekend, KGW reports.
The case also arrives amid a broader decline in regional car theft. Following record levels of vehicle theft in 2021 and 2022, targeted regional task forces helped drive a 31% reduction in reported motor vehicle thefts across the Portland area through late 2025, according to a Multnomah County report.
Thompson was taken to Washington County Jail following his arrest. Police are asking anyone with information to call non-emergency dispatch at 503-629-0111 and reference case number 50-26-12522.
