Man Arrested After Leading Sedro Woolley Officers on High-Speed Chase in Stolen Vehicle

Skagit County – According to information released by the Sedro Woolley Police Department, a man has been arrested and booked into the Skagit County Jail for Possession of a Stolen Motor Vehicle, Attempt to Elude Police, and other Felony charges from an earlier incident.

On Friday, April 6th, at about 8:55 pm, the Burlington Police Department put out an “attempt to locate” of a suspect wanted in a robbery, related to the theft of a motor vehicle while the suspect was armed with a large knife. At that time, the stolen vehicle had not been located.

At about 9:06 pm, Sedro Woolley Officers located the vehicle as it was leaving Sedro Woolley city limits, headed southbound on Highway 9. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but it attempted to elude them on Highway 9. Speeds reached 85 MPH during the pursuit of this stolen vehicle.

As the pursuit neared the round-a-bout near Highway 9 and College Way (Big Rock), a Washington State Patrol Trooper was able to lay spike strips, causing the passenger side tires of the stolen vehicle to deflate. Mount Vernon Officers aided in stopping traffic from entering the round-a-bout during this time. The vehicle continued at high speeds, southbound, to the area of Highway 9 S and NW View Drive. It was there that the vehicle lost control and swerved into a ditch on the northbound shoulder of Highway 9 S.

After crashing the stolen vehicle, the driver fled on foot from officers and troopers, to the 18000 Block of Highway 9 S. The suspect attempted to climb the wooden fence in a yard to further escape. At this time, officers noted that the suspect’s hands were empty (no weapons seen).

The suspect then turned towards the officers, and took a “shooting stance” with his hands positioned at shoulder height in front of him, as though he was holding a handgun in the direction of the officers. A Sedro Woolley Officer transitioned from his handgun to his taser, and when the suspect reached towards his mid-section, the Officer deployed his taser and the suspect fell to the ground. He was then placed in handcuffs, and later transported to the Skagit County Jail. Officers later located a folding knife in a pocket which was in the area that the suspect had previously been reaching towards.

The stolen vehicle received minor damage from crashing in the ditch, as well as the flattened tires. The Sedro Woolley Police Department had this to say of the incident:

We greatly appreciate the assistance from the Washington State Patrol, Mount Vernon Police Department, and Skagit 911. We also appreciate the cooperation of the vehicles which yielded to our emergency lights and siren. This was a dangerous suspect and we are thankful has was taken into custody.

The suspect received minor injuries from the taser deployment. No officers were injured during this incident.