Man ‘out of his mind’ sentenced in Snohomish County chase

Published 8:16 pm Saturday, February 27, 2016

EVERETT — A Federal Way man who was shot in the shoulder after a 44-mile police chase told a Snohomish County judge Thursday that he barely remembered the events of the night.

Joseph Young, 54, said he didn’t know he’d tried to run down a Washington State Patrol trooper until he read the police reports and saw a video that captured the Dec. 16, 2012 incident. He was in the middle of a psychotic break at the time, he said. Young admitted that he’d gone off of his medication.

“I have no excuse for my actions. I was out of my mind,” Young said. “You probably hear that every day but that’s the only excuse I have.”

Snohomish County Superior Court Judge George Appel sentenced Young to 4½ months in jail, declining the defendant’s request for electronic home monitoring.

Young went on a rampage that put lives in jeopardy, Appel said.

“I need you to remember the consequences,” the judge said. “I’d like you to remember what jail is like. You’re going to get a taste of jail.”

Young pleaded guilty in January to attempted second-degree assault and attempting to elude police. He faced up to nine months in jail.

Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Bob Langbehn agreed to reduce the charges given Young’s long mental health history. He also consulted with the trooper and the detectives who investigated the shooting. The detectives recognized that “something was going on with his mental health that night,” Langbehn said.

The chase started when Young sped past a trooper at 105 mph on I-5. The pursuit passed through Everett, Smokey Point and Arlington before heading south past Snohomish and into Clearview.

Along the way, police flattened the pickup truck’s tires, but Young continued on. He eventually stopped in a parking lot in Clearview. Troopers converged on the scene and ordered Young out of his truck.

One trooper “indicated in his report that the defendant then looked directly at him, smiled, jammed the truck into gear and began accelerating.”

The trooper scrambled out of the way and fired two shots. Young was hit in the shoulder.

He tried to drive away but couldn’t get any traction. His tires were smoking and coming off of the rims.

Young refused to get out of the pickup. With guns aimed at him, Young put a marijuana pipe to his lips and lit up. Troopers continued to scream at him to get out of the pickup.

When he was done smoking, he got out of the truck and screamed obscenities at the troopers. He resisted arrest and was struck twice with an electric stun gun before the troopers were able to handcuff him.

Young told the judge that since that night his medications were changed and he’s stabilized. He occasionally uses marijuana to help him sleep, he said.

Appel ordered Young to take his medication and not take any drugs not approved by his doctor, including marijuana.

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley.