Lynnwood man eludes cops because it was ‘one of those days’

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, July 10, 2019

LYNNWOOD — A 21-year-old Lynnwood man barrelled through a red light and stop sign, crossed the center line and almost caused a collision while leading police on a five-mile chase Sunday. His excuse did not keep him out of jail.

“I’m just having one of those days,” the man told officers, according to police reports filed in court.

Lynnwood police first noticed the green Buick Regal around 8 p.m. Sunday, in the 20800 block of Highway 99.

White smoke shot out from the spinning rear tires as the driver — who had a “man bun” — hit the gas, according to police reports. The car swerved sideways for a moment in the intersection, before correcting, continuing on and blowing through a red light without braking at 212th Street SW.

He was going about 15 mph above the speed limit, police wrote.

Officers chased the car west onto 220th Street SW and north on 80th Street SW. The Buick passed another car despite a double yellow line, and did not slow for a stop sign at 212th Street SW, almost causing a T-bone crash.

Lynnwood police backed off and followed at a distance.

Officers were only able to get the car’s license plate toward the end of the pursuit. They found it was registered to a man who lived at an apartment on Hurst Road. Police knocked on his door minutes later, and his girlfriend answered.

They asked for the man, by name. The suspected driver — in a white shirt, with his hair still in a bun — came to the door and confirmed he was the registered owner of the Buick. He declined to step outside, but answered police questions, with slurred speech, according to the court records.

Had he been driving the car? He said he had.

Had he seen police lights and sirens? “Yes.”

One of the officers asked why he’d been pointing out of his window toward the end of the chase, near his home. He reported he just wanted the police to follow him to his apartment. He said he “wasn’t trying to hurt anybody but didn’t care if he got hurt,” police wrote.

He first told police he drank tequila before getting in his car. Later, he said he drank the liquor when he got home — but then conceded he also drank before he got in the car, too, court papers say. In the middle of a field sobriety test, he gave up, according to the reports.

Breath samples from almost two hours after the chase showed his blood-alcohol content at about 0.15, a little under twice the legal limit to drive.

The man was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of attempting to elude police and driving under the influence. Court records suggest he has no history of felonies or driving offenses in Washington.

Superior Court Judge Tam Bui released the man from jail Monday, on a promise to show up to his next court date.

Caleb Hutton: 425-339-3454; chutton@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @snocaleb.