A naked man who stole a dump truck and a dog in Oak Harbor, then crashed the truck in a serious injury accident Sept. 15, pleaded guilty to charges in two cases Monday.

Gerald Hooper, a 20-year-old Oak Harbor resident and former member of the Navy, pleaded guilty in Island County Superior Court to vehicular assault (under the influence), burglary in the second degree and taking a motor vehicle without permission in the second degree.

In a separate case, Hooper pleaded guilty to arson in the second degree and residential burglary.

The judge went along with the recommended sentence — agreed upon by the prosecution and defense — and sentenced Hooper to a year and four months in prison in both cases. The sentences run concurrently, or at the same time.

In the arson case, Hooper entered the home of Navy men while they were on deployment and set off fireworks in their kitchen, starting a fire.

Hooper was discharged from the Navy after being charged in the arson case. A couple of days later, Hooper went on a bizarre crime spree that ended with a serious accident on Highway 20.

Detective Scott Witman with the Washington State Patrol wrote in the affidavit of probable cause that Hooper drove his Ford Taurus to a Napoleon Drive residence Sept. 15 and stole a black lab puppy from a kennel.

Later, he tried without success to ram through a Navy gate.

Next, Hooper and the stolen dog, which he had apparently renamed “Ruff Ruff,” drove over to Golf Course Road and stole a dump truck. Hooper took off his pants and underwear and left them in the car.

Witnesses saw Hooper driving the truck erratically on Highway 20. The dump truck crossed the centerline near Krieg Construction and collided with a Dodge Caravan and a Honda Accord.

The driver of the Dodge Caravan, 61-year-old Ronald Felix of Marysville, suffered serious disabling injuries to both his feet. The driver of the Honda, 25-year-old Jennifer Mittag of Oak Harbor, received numerous sprains and contusions, according to Witman’s report.

Witman wrote that witnesses said Hooper seemed disoriented and smelled of intoxicants at the scene. Hooper was only dressed in a sweatshirt and had no pants or underwear, but a truck driver loaned him a pair of pants.

The report states that Hooper claimed to have been raped, but later recanted the story.

Hooper’s blood alcohol level was measured at 0.266, or more than three times the legal limit for driving of 0.08.

You can reach News-Times reporter Jessie Stensland at jstensland@whidbeynews

times.com or call 675-6611.