Eugene Police Department officers responded to a report of a man and woman breaking into a home at 7:42 p.m. at the Lakeridge community. Police said the same address had been burglarized recently. While in custody, Travis Ray Mattoon tried to escape twice on Christmas Eve; first leaping into a frigid lake, and later by slipping out of handcuffs chained to his hospital bed, police said.
Officers sent out a drone to surveil the home and Mattoon. When the officers went inside, Mattoon took off running out of the house and towards a nearby lake, Eugene police said. He ignored police commands to stop, and officers sent a K9 to catch him.
The events sound like a comedy movie. A police dog, named Marco, caught Mattoon but let him go and Mattoon continued into the lake. Eugene police said he escaped the hospital and ran into the parking lot where he then hid in an employee’s car. A Springfield Police Department K9 team found him there. The 27-year-old was taken back to the hospital until he was medically cleared, police said, but he will be booked into Lane County Jail on the following charges:
Burglary in the First Degree (2 counts)
Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle
Elude by Vehicle
Interfering with a Police Officer
Resisting Arrest
Disorderly Conduct in the First Degree
Escape in the Third Degree
Mr. Mattoon also faces a citation from Springfield police for unlawful entry of a motor vehicle and an outstanding fugitive warrant from the state of Nevada.
