Felony assault case dropped after witnesses refuse to testify

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A felony charge of second-degree assault has been dropped against a 19-year-old Port Hadlock man who had been accused of trying to run his ex-girlfriend off the road.

During a pretrial hearing in Jefferson County Superior Court earlier this month, the prosecutor’s office told Court Commissioner Micky Forbes that the state was not prepared to move forward with the case because witnesses were not willing to testify.

Forbes agreed to sign an order dismissing the case.

Makaio Devonte Atkins-Taylor was arrested just before 1 a.m. Sunday, March 27 by a Jefferson County deputy

A driver on US Highway 101 called 911 dispatchers and said his girlfriend was following behind him in another vehicle when her ex-boyfriend, later identified as Atkins-Taylor, began following her and allegedly tried to “run her off the roadway at high speeds,” according to court documents.

At one point, authorities said Atkins-Taylor recklessly passed his ex-girlfriend then stopped the Subaru Legacy he was driving, forcing the woman to stop her Mazda, back it up into oncoming traffic, and into the other lane to avoid a collision.

The woman’s boyfriend was eventually able to get his car between the woman and her ex, according to court papers, and they continued south on US 101 and went east on Highway 104 as the boyfriend called 911.

A responding deputy found the three vehicles near Highway 104 and Highway 19, and saw the Subaru abruptly turn onto Highway 19 as the other cars kept going east on Highway 104.

Another deputy on Highway 19 pulled over Atkins-Taylor and he was arrested.

In a statement, the woman said she thought her ex-boyfriend was stalking her using Snapchat maps linked to her phone. She also recalled another incident where he showed up when he should have not known where she was.

When a deputy asked Atkins-Taylor why he tried to force her off the road, he said the other pair were the ones who had started driving erratically, and that he was just trying to get home.

Atkins-Taylor was charged earlier this year with second-degree assault (with sentencing enhancements for domestic violence and use of a deadly weapon) and reckless driving.