By Cali Bagby/Islands Sounder Reporter
An Orcas Island man was sentenced to nine years in prison in the wake of a vehicular rampage and high-speed collision in February that left another man paralyzed from the waist down.
On June 29, Gary Shawn Mobley, 43, pleaded guilty in San Juan County Superior Court to three counts of vehicular assault and to reckless driving. He was ordered to serve a total of nine years in prison and to pay $189,315 in fines and fees.
He is also expected to pay more than $190,000 in court-ordered restitution to two men injured in a mid-February collision.
According to prosecutors, Mobley intentionally ran his car into an Orcas Island man on the night of Nov. 19. Prosecutors also stated that in a separate incident, Mobley ran his car into another vehicle in the early morning hours of Feb. 15, near the intersection of Crow Valley and Orcas roads. The driver of the other vehicle was paralyzed as a result of the crash.
The crash was the culmination of several events involving Mobley, the two men who were in the car that he struck, and two women with whom Mobley reportedly had been romantically involved with as well.
According to court documents, Mobley and the two men, both of whom are from off-island, “smoked drugs” on the night of Feb. 14 and he then accused each of them throughout the night of having separate affairs with two women that he was dating. When one of the women got into a car with the two men, Mobley then pursued them in his vehicle and slammed into their car several times.
At the intersection of Crow Valley and Orcas Roads, he again ran into their vehicle, causing it to roll onto its side. Mobley reportedly had been traveling at speeds of 50-80 miles per hour during the pursuit. One of the two men fled the scene, the other was trapped inside the car.
Extricating the driver from the wreckage required an extensive effort by Orcas Fire and Rescue personnel. He was then airlifted to Harborview Medical Center, where doctors determined that the man’s spine had been fractured and displaced, and that his spinal cord had been damaged. Paralyzed from the waist down, he is presumed in need of medical attention for the remainder of his life.
The man who fled the scene suffered fractured ribs and a foot injury, while the woman in the car suffered back and neck injuries, as a result of the crash.
According to prosecutors, Mobley, who surrendered five days after the crash, admitted to consuming methamphetamine prior to the incident and that he was consumed by rage when he committed the offenses.
He had previously been convicted of three counts of battery and of possession of drugs and paraphernalia.
