A Saturday night traffic stop for a minor violation led to a pursuit through Thurston and Pierce counties, culminating with the capture of two subjects with outstanding warrants.
The subjects were also booked on drug charges.
“Great work by all the involved agencies to get some career criminals into custody again,” Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders said in a social media post just after midnight on Sunday.
According to Sanders, a Thurston County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) deputy attempted to stop an unlicensed vehicle in the Nisqually area, but the driver fled, and a pursuit was initiated.
Deputies requested air support, but nothing was available. The driver fled to Tacoma, where Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, Tacoma Police Department, and Washington State Patrol assisted.
A Tacoma police officer spiked the vehicle, and TCSO conducted a PIT maneuver to bring the pursuit to an end.
The female passenger was immediately taken into custody, but the male driver allegedly tried to flee while ditching a large amount of money he had with him.
He was quickly apprehended on foot, according to Sanders.
The driver was identified as a convicted felon with four warrants out for his arrest throughout the I-5 corridor for crimes including possession of a stolen vehicle, attempting to elude, hit and run, DUI, and first-degree driving with a suspended license.
A search warrant for the vehicle yielded fentanyl and distribution materials, according to Sanders.
The driver was booked into the Thurston County Jail for his outstanding warrants and for new charges of attempting to elude, possession of fentanyl with intent to deliver, first-degree driving on a revoked license and obstructing.
The female passenger allegedly provided a false name to avoid being arrested on her warrants. She was also identified as a convicted felon with active warrants for escape, second-degree theft, making false statements and first-degree identity theft.
During the arrest, she allegedly claimed she swallowed fentanyl, which Sanders said is “a tactic used to try and prevent LE from going through the trouble of medically clearing the suspect and instead releasing them.”
While on her way to the hospital to be medically cleared, she allegedly “obtained some fentanyl from her genital area (while handcuffed) and tried to swallow it,” Sanders wrote.
Once cleared from the hospital, she will be booked for her warrants, first-degree criminal impersonation and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.
Law enforcement have not yet released the suspects' names.
