Two Vancouver residents are in Clark County Jail after leading police on a pursuit that shut down the Interstate 5 bridge last month, one of whom is the daughter of a man who was convicted of three murders in Woodland in 2016.
On Dec. 23, Molly Luyster, 20, made her first appearance in Clark County Superior Court on a charge of attempting to elude law enforcement. Luyster’s bail was set at $20,000 and she is scheduled for an arraignment on Jan. 6.
According to a probable cause affidavit for Luyster’s arrest, at about 3:50 p.m. on Dec. 22 police responded to Leverich Park in Vancouver on a report of “suspicious circumstances.” On arrival, law enforcement found Luyster and Shane Hirata, 35, of Vancouver, unconscious in a vehicle. Luyster was in the driver’s seat and Hirata was in the front passenger seat.
The responding officer was notified Hirata had outstanding warrants for robbery, the affidavit stated. Patrol vehicles pinned in Luyster’s vehicle and officers told the two to raise their hands and step out. Luyster did not comply, started the vehicle and drove forward, and hit two police vehicles, before going over a concrete barrier. She then drove off toward Northeast 39th Street, the affidavit stated.
Luyster drove onto southbound I-5 as she traveled on the shoulder and weaved between vehicles to elude police, according to the affidavit. Her vehicle was finally stopped by police on the Washington state side of the I-5 bridge. She was then “detained without further incident” after she stopped.
Hirata faces charges of robbery, theft and possession of a stolen vehicle, unlawful firearm possession, an out of county warrant, a community custody violation, and malicious mischief, according to Clark County Jail records. He is set for a court appearance on Jan. 7.
Luyster is the daughter of Brent Luyster, who in 2017 was convicted of three counts of first-degree aggravated murder for the slaying of three people in Woodland the prior year. The elder Luyster’s son, also named Brent Luyster, is also in Clark County Jail on a second-degree murder charge for allegedly fatally stabbing his stepfather in May.
