Salem man with 47 arrests gets 12 years in prison for robbing driver, crashing stolen car

SALEM Pray. (KPTV) – A Salem man was sentenced to 12 and a half years total Friday for kidnapping, multiple incidents of robbery and auto theft, according to the Marion Co. Dist. Prosecutor’s Office.

On Tuesday, Christopher Cortez Tolbert was found guilty by a Marion County jury of first-degree robbery, second-degree kidnapping and unauthorized use of an automobile in connection with a February 2024 case. Tolbert also pleaded guilty to fleeing of a police officer, fleeing an accident, and resisting arrest.

According to the district attorney’s office, the victim was driving in Salem on the night of February 9, 2024. When the victim stopped his car at a stop sign, Tolbert, then 32 years old, climbed into the passenger side door . Tolbert pointed a screwdriver at the victim and told him, “Go.”

The victim said he drove Tolbert around Salem for 10 to 15 minutes before Tolbert made the victim stop and change seats. Once Tolbert was driving the car, the victim asked Tolbert to let him go, but Tolbert refused.

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The victim said Tolbert kept the screwdriver in his hand the entire time he was driving.

After a couple of hours, Tolbert drove the victim to Polk County, near Premier RV Resort, where he demanded she give him $3,000.

The victim refused.

Tolbert smashed the victim’s phone and took a necklace, wallet and his IDs before allowing him to leave.

The victim found a night guard at Premier RV, who called the police.

Shortly after, two Keizer Police Department officers attempted to stop Tolbert, but he sped away in the victim’s car. As officers pursued him, Tolbert lost control of the car and crashed into another vehicle. At that, he attempted to flee on foot, but was caught and arrested approximately an hour after the victim first contacted police.

Tolbert was arrested about an hour later by the Salem Police Department after speeding away from two Keizer Police Department officers in the victim’s car.

Police said Tolbert resisted arrest when they caught him, and officers also said they found the victim’s IDs in Tolbert’s pocket and a screwdriver in his backpack.

Following Tolbert’s guilty verdict on Tuesday in the February 2024 case, Marion County Circuit Court Judge Audrey Broyles sentenced Tolbert to 90 months in prison on Friday.

The district attorney’s office said Tolbert also received an additional 61 months for separate cases involving third-degree robbery, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and fleeing a police officer.

At the time of his arrest, Tolbert had been arrested 47 times and had multiple prior convictions.