By Leo Brine
The Olympian
A car chase ended with a Sheriff’s deputy discovering guns, drugs and money stashed inside the fleeing vehicle early Saturday morning.
At around 1 a.m. Saturday, a Thurston County Sheriff’s deputy was led on a car chase after he witnessed a vehicle driving “extremely slow” on Pacific Avenue at Marvin Road, Thurston County Sheriff’s spokesperson Ray Brady told The Olympian. The vehicle also had expired tabs and the deputy said he saw the vehicle driving erratically and crossing various lanes of traffic, Brady added.
When the deputy signaled for the vehicle to pull over, the driver stepped on the gas, blowing past a stop sign to get back onto Pacific Avenue headed west, Brady said. The pursuant deputy watched as the vehicle “drove recklessly,” crossing into oncoming lanes of traffic as it headed toward Interstate 5, said Brady.
As the vehicle approached the freeway, the Sheriff’s deputy requested permission to use a PIT maneuver on the car to prevent it from getting away, Brady said, but maneuver did not work. But when the vehicle got onto I-5, the deputy tried again and was able to tap the rear tire of the fleeing vehicle, causing it to spin out and stop on the highway, Brady said.
When more deputies arrived at the scene, the two passengers and the driver of the vehicle stepped out of the immobilized car, Brady said.
After the three occupants were out of the car, deputies noticed a handgun underneath the driver’s seat of the vehicle, Brady said. Officers then requested and received a search warrant for the vehicle. In the search they discovered two firearms, ammunition, scales, an undisclosed amount of cash, methamphetamines and roughly 300 grams of heroin worth roughly $15,000-$20,000 dollars, according to Brady.
The 36-year-old male driver was arrested at the scene on suspicion of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, Brady said.
He also was arrested on suspicion of attempting to elude an officer, unlawful possession of a firearm in the first-degree and possession of a stolen firearm, Brady said.
The driver of the vehicle was taken to the Thurston County Jail from the scene.
