He stole from a youth summer camp and was arrested after a pursuit, deputies say
A man suspected of stealing equipment from a non-profit youth summer camp on Key Peninsula is being held on $5,000 bail.
The 29-year-old pleaded not guilty Wednesday to first-degree possessing stolen property, attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle, resisting arrest, two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance, duty on striking property and duty in case of damage to attended vehicle or other property.
He was arrested Tuesday after a high-speed pursuit with Pierce County sheriff’s deputies in Lakebay.
Charging papers and the Sheriff’s Department gave this account:
Deputies responded to a burglary that morning at Camp Gallagher, which offers sailing and canoeing to children ages 11 and 18 in summertime.
Camp officials reported someone stole a utility trailer, two lawn mowers, a wood chipper, boat motor and brush mower, in addition to backpacks, tent poles and extension cords.
Just before 3 p.m., a deputy spotted a Dodge Dakota pickup truck pulling a similar trailer and began following it on 158th Avenue South.
After matching the license plate to the stolen trailer, the deputy tried to pull over the Dodge but the driver kept going.
For the next 10 blocks, the Dodge driver allegedly kept traveling at a slow speed but eventually sped up to 80 mph.
One of the two passengers tossed a BB gun out the window of the moving truck, and another gun was tossed into the truck bed.
The pursuit continued onto 30th Street and Bass Lane, with the Dodge nearly hitting other vehicles and destroying a mailbox and 40 feet of chain link fence, records say.
Deputies noticed smoke pouring from the engine compartment shortly before the Dodge attempted to make a turn and struck a big pile of dirt.
All three people inside the truck ran and the deputy chased the driver, who was taken into custody after a struggle.
He had methamphetamine and heroin on him, records say.
The driver, who was on community supervision at the time of his arrest, claimed he was moving the trailer for a friend but declined to provide names because that would be “narcing,” prosecutors wrote in charging papers.
When asked why he didn’t pull over, the driver said, “I didn’t understand why you were pulling me over. I thought you guys have something against me. It was stupid for sure,” records say.
The stolen items were valued at an estimated $10,000.
This story was originally published April 23, 2020 at 12:08 PM.
