A Hermiston man is accused of the violent attack that killed a well-known Kennewick musician.

Christopher R. Calvert, 44, was caught in rural Skamania County, Washington, driving Clayton “Clay” Wick’s car about 3 p.m. Thursday, May 5, Kennewick police Lt. Jason Kiel said during a media briefing May 6.

Wick was a former bassist for the Walla Walla Symphony.

Calvert was an acquaintance of Wick’s, police said.

Police think Calvert took the 2012 Honda CRV after killing the man inside Wick’s Buchanan Street home.

A housekeeper discovered Wick’s body two days earlier, according to Kennewick police. Investigators suspect the 76-year-old, who lived alone, had been dead for three to five days before she found his body.

Police said it appears Wick died after a “violent assault and blunt force trauma.” The results of an autopsy conducted May 5 have not returned, said officials.

Washington State Patrol crime lab technicians spent two days documenting and gathering evidence from the “violent encounter,” said a news release.

Many of the details about Wick’s death remain under investigation, including the reason for the attack and how they knew each other.

“The motive is not completely known at this time,” said the release.

They had been seen together at the house at least one other time, Kiel said.

Missing car

When police began investigating, they noticed Wick’s CRV was missing and thought Calvert had stolen it, Kiel said. A warrant for car theft was issued for his arrest May 3.

After more investigating, detectives were able to link him to the murder investigation and a judge agreed to issue a nationwide, $1 million first-degree murder warrant for his arrest.

Police tracked him to Stevenson, Washington, a small community about an hour east of Vancouver, on May 5.

Skamania County Sheriff’s deputies along with the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force and Kennewick detectives found Calvert driving around that area around 3 p.m. May 5.

When police tried to pull him over, Calvert sped away, starting a five-minute chase that ended when officers forced the car into a ditch in a rural area of Skamania County.

Calvert was arrested and taken back to the Benton County jail were he was booked on suspicion of auto theft and first-degree premeditated murder with the aggravating circumstances of invasion of privacy, lack of remorse and excessive injuries.

Calvert has a lengthy criminal history, mostly from Oregon that includes convictions for eluding police, possession of meth and manufacturing a controlled substance.