Pendleton Man Arrested After Threatening Walmart Workers, Leading Police on Chase

Michael Lee Horrocks, 30, of Pendleton walked into the Walmart at 2203 SW Court Ave. on the evening of March 7 armed with a knife and threatened to stab employees, according to Pendleton Police Chief Chuck Byram. He was, police say, a former employee of the store.

Pendleton Police Department officers were dispatched at 7:37 p.m. By the time they arrived, Horrocks had already bolted from the store and driven off in a silver GMC Yukon. A nearby officer spotted the vehicle at Southwest 20th Street and Court Avenue and attempted to stop the driver on Southgate near the Interstate 84 milepost 209 on-ramp. The driver accelerated eastbound onto I-84 at high speed instead.

The pursuit lasted eight minutes. Police chased the Yukon east on I-84 until Horrocks used the emergency vehicle turnaround at milepost 214 to flip direction, driving back westbound toward Pendleton. The chase ended at 7:48 p.m. when Horrocks was taken into custody in the Walmart parking lot where it had all started.

During the response, Umatilla County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Cody Marcum and Pendleton Police Sgt. Mark Golter were involved in a collision. Both sergeants were uninjured, though Marcum's vehicle had to be towed. Pendleton police reported no injuries among employees, customers, or bystanders.

The Pendleton Police Department, Umatilla County Sheriff's Office, and Oregon State Police all took part in the Walmart pursuit. OSP was simultaneously running a separate chase across town that same Saturday night, one that ended at the Big Smoke parking lot with the arrest of Levi Dwayne Jones. Both Horrocks and Jones face felony charges.

Horrocks was booked into the Umatilla County Jail, where he remained as of March 9. That same day, the Umatilla County District Attorney's Office filed six preliminary charges against him in Oregon state court: fleeing, unlawful use of a weapon, menacing, reckless driving, and two counts of recklessly endangering another person.

The charges reflect both what allegedly happened inside the store and what unfolded across several miles of interstate after Horrocks left it. Court filings and a bail determination are expected to follow as the case moves through Umatilla County's court system.