Man obsessed with ‘Wednesday’ actress damages 2 Tri-City patrol cars in stolen Mercedes

A 37-year-old man having a mental health crisis led Tri-Cities police on a game of cat-and-mouse through Benton City on Sunday, authorities said.

The chase included crashes with two patrol cars, multiple calls to 911 and a short standoff.

Then on Monday, he threatened at a court hearing to trigger "the rapture" — a Christian belief when living and dead believers will be resurrected — after he was bailed out of jail by Jenna Ortega, an actress best known recently for her Netflix role as Wednesday Addams.

"I'm befuddled in my brain why no one will listen to my story," Dustin Akerill told Court Commissioner Andrew Howell during the hearing.

Akerill is in the Benton County jail on charges of eluding police, taking a car without permission and vandalism. He is being held in lieu of $20,000 bail.

Deputy Prosecutor Brendan Siefken said over the course of two days, Akerill damaged his mother's car, then stole it. He was spotted twice in Benton City, and each time, he hit police cars in his escape.

"He does pose a danger to the community," Siefken argued.

Akerill has no prior criminal history, according to online public records.

While it's not clear if he is being treated for a mental illness, Benton County Sheriff's Lt. Mike Clark said Akerill appeared to be having a mental health crisis at the time.

Police initially started investigating after Akerill's mother called Richland police on Saturday to report that her 2015 Mercedes Benz was vandalized.

She told investigators that she allowed her son to borrow the car earlier in the day and when he returned it about 3:15 p.m. he said "she would not like the drawings on her vehicle," court documents said.

A "chaos star" was engraved in the paint, according to court documents. The symbol is a circle composed of arrows pointing out and has links to anarchism.

A photo on his YouTube page shows the damage.

The officer who talked to Akerill by phone said he began making "bizarre statements." He told the officer that "This was a test" and said that the officer had failed it.

This matched another engraving on the car that said "John 3:16 is a test, failure was an option."

From Richland to Benton City

After finding the damage, Akerill's mother forbid him from using the car. But he took the keys during the night and drove off early Sunday, said court documents. She reported it stolen.

Benton County deputies first saw the car and Akerill parked at the Palm Tavern in Benton City. But when police tried to use their vehicles to pin in the Mercedes, Akerill allegedly rammed a county patrol car and drove over a spike strip to get away.

Investigators said Akerill put officers in danger and drove recklessly away down Ninth Street, court documents said.

Clark told the Herald that Akerill called 911. Emergency dispatchers were then able to figure out where he was calling from.

Officers found him and ended up using "less than lethal" measures to try to get him out of the car.

The documents don't state what devices they used. Less than lethal measures can include pepper spray, pepper balls and police dogs.

Akerill managed to drive off again, but hit another patrol car from West Richland and officers had to run out of the way to avoid getting hit, court documents said.

A YouTube short was posted on Akerill's page in which he talks about a police shootout and being on the run.

"F-n police chase, f-n pepper spray, betrayal, betrayal, all because of the Social Security Administration. Because of Jenna Ortega, I committed suicide in every lifetime," he said. "Don't repeat history Jenna."

He also was caught on camera driving on the wrong side of the road on First Street and Kennedy Road.

Standoff with police

Akerill called 911 one more time about noon Sunday. That time they tracked him to a home surrounded by orchards on Demoss Road, Richland police posted on Facebook .

Police surrounded the area and used a drone to confirm he was there, and converged on the car. That time they were able to corner him.

Akerill tried to escape, but wasn't able to force his way out. After a brief period, police convinced him to get out of the car and he was arrested.