News release CCSO. The Coos County Sheriff’s Office received a call of a red pickup truck being stolen in the Charleston area on September 7, 2017 at about 8:41 pm. Two deputies happened to be in the area on patrol and spotted the vehicle. The first deputy reported the stolen truck traveling at speeds approaching 60 miles per hour, and trying to hit the deputy’s patrol vehicle. The second deputy, spotted the vehicle, and it once again tried to hit the second deputy’s vehicle on the bridge in Charleston. The second deputy had to conduct abrupt maneuvering to avoid being struck by the stolen pickup. As the vehicle passed by the second patrol car, the deputy heard three loud noises which sounded similar to gunfire. The stolen pickup continued on to the area of Englund Marine and Herbal Choices where it jumped the curb, drove erratically in the parking lot, then crashed into some brush. The deputies were able to take the lone occupant into custody. William Anthony Postlethwait, 35 years old of Coos Bay, was checked at the scene by medical personnel due to the crash. When the deputies searched the pickup they located a .45 caliber pistol with its slide locked back as if fired and the magazine had run out of ammunition. This pistol had been previously reported stolen in a theft from inside the city limits of Coos Bay. After being medically evaluated, Postlethwait was taken to the Coos County Jail where he is currently being held on $130,000 bail.
