A Longview man is in prison after admitting to driving under the influence and causing a single-vehicle crash in November west of Stella that injured five passengers, as well as other 2024 crimes.
However, his sentence was lighter than usual due to a paperwork error, according to his lawyer.
Makiah Dalton Voorhees, 28, received a concurrent sentence of one year and one month earlier this month after accepting a deal, which included nine no-contact orders and 18 months of community custody.
Voorhees told Cowlitz County Judge Patricia Fassett during his sentencing that he "learned his lesson," while sitting beside his two attorneys, Stephen Geiger from the Cowlitz County Office of Public Defense and Ted Debray from DeBray Law in Longview.
Fassett told Voorhees that he "went out with a bang," referring to his four run-ins with the law in 2024, culminating in a Christmas Day arrest.
Fassett also said she was "begrudgingly" signing the sentencing documents, because, due to a "major error," he received a "massive benefit" in his sentence, with a range from 22 to 29 months.
The error that Fassett was referring to is a miscalculation of Vorhees' offender score, according to Debray, who represented Voorhees in the Nov. 17 crash.
This mistake was identified after deals were made, meaning several guilty pleas would have needed to be withdrawn, essentially forcing them to start from square one.
Voorhees faced multiple charges, including several counts of felony harassment, assault, reckless driving, and vehicular assault, but all of those were whittled down to a two felony harassment charges, an unlawful possession of a firearm, three assault charges, and vehicular assault for all five people involved in the November crash.
Latest arrest
Voorhees' most recent run-in with law enforcement occurred on Dec. 25 when officers from the Longview Police Department responded to PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center after a woman said Voorhees made death threats and assaulted her.
As stated in the police report, the victim said Voorhees had an outburst after she confronted him about her missing oxycodone medication, prompting her to flee to a friend's house.
Voorhees also threatened the victim, saying he would "shoot up the house" and she would end up on "The First 48" — the true crime TV show about homicides — if she didn't return to him.
When she did return home, Voorhees threatened her with a knife, the report states.
During an argument, Voorhees grabbed the victim’s hand, which had stitches from a previous injury, causing some of them to rip. The victim said she ended up in the hospital after Voorhees bit her wound, causing the scab to come off, according to the report.
November crash
Police records show Voorhees was arrested on Nov. 17 after a single-vehicle crash in the eastbound lanes of Ocean Beach Highway west of Stella, which involved five passengers, two of whom suffered injuries, including a broken nose and skin removal.
He reportedly told the police he and his passengers were heading home after a party near the county line when he lost control of the vehicle, admitting that he was driving 80 mph.
After the crash, he also told police, "I'm not gonna lie, I had a couple," and also admitted to using cannabis, the report states. Police would later discover a prescription bottle for muscle relaxers, which warned the user against mixing the meds with alcohol.
Other arrests
Before the November accident, Voorhees — who was prohibited from possessing or purchasing a firearm — brought one to a car meet in the 3100 block of Ocean Beach Highway, according to a Sept. 13 police report. During the event, he also reportedly got into an altercation with a man.
In June, Voorhees was arrested when he violated a no-contact order by sending messages to a woman and her boyfriend through a mutual friend, which included threats such as, "trust me, my boys will gun him down faster than he can stop."
Another message was sent from Voorhees to the victim saying that he "will break your face," and "I will kill you ...," a police report states.
