EVERETT — A man who allegedly led police on a winding, 44-mile high-speed pursuit around Snohomish County on Sunday morning reportedly doesn’t remember much of what happened.
Joseph R. Young, 50, of Federal Way, reportedly told investigators that he was off his medicine for bipolar disorder at the time, according to the arrest affidavit. He also told police he smokes marijuana every day, and smoked it sometime Sunday before the pursuit started about 6:30 a.m.
The man reportedly told police he remembered having an uneventful drive Sunday and then he suddenly saw a cop standing in front of his truck pointing a gun at him, police wrote in court papers.
Police allege that the pursuit started after a Washington State Patrol trooper clocked the man’s pickup truck going 105 mph on northbound I-5 in south Everett.
The trooper gave chase, and the pursuit went up I-5 to Smokey Point, east to Arlington and then southbound down Highway 9 into the Clearview area. During the commotion, police deployed spike strips that damaged the truck’s tires.
Around 7 a.m., the man pulled into a gas station parking lot and stopped.
Prosecutors allege that he tried to run over one of the troopers on scene as the trooper approached him. A Snohomish County sheriff’s sergeant on scene saw the truck’s back tires spin as the man reportedly steered toward the trooper about 15 feet away, according to a search warrant filed earlier this week.
The trooper opened fire, striking Young in the shoulder.
Afterward, the man reportedly fought with officers. He was shot with a stun-gun during the struggle. It took five cops to wrestle him into handcuffs, according to police reports.
The man was treated for his gunshot wound at a Seattle trauma center before being shipped to Snohomish County Jail on Tuesday.
He appeared Wednesday in Everett District Court with his left arm in a sling, and obvious cuts and bruises to his face. He is under investigation for second-degree assault and attempting to elude police. Bail was set at $30,000.
The man has no felony history. He has three misdemeanors as an adult, including a resisting arrest conviction from fall 2011.
Police reportedly recovered two marijuana pipes in the man’s truck, one from the center console.
Sunday’s shooting remains under investigation by the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team, which handles potentially lethal use-of-force cases. The trooper was put on leave per standard procedure.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
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