Chase through Marysville ends in stolen Honda driver’s arrest

By Cathy Logg

Herald Writer

MARYSVILLE — It wasn’t easy, but police managed to bring a stolen-car pursuit to an end Wednesday, damaging two cruisers in the process.

The incident kicked off at 12:40 a.m. when officer Joby Johnson, a three-year veteran, saw a late-model Honda in the City Center Motel parking lot on State Avenue. Aware of the increase both in Marysville and across the county of stolen cars, particularly Hondas, Johnson checked the license plate and discovered it was stolen, Cmdr. Ralph Krusey said.

Johnson followed the Honda as it left the parking lot. He attempted to stop the car in the 1000 block of State Avenue, and the driver slowed briefly, then sped away, Krusey said.

The driver turned east onto 104th Street NE, where the car stopped, allowing a male passenger to jump out and flee, Krusey said. The car then sped away.

Two more officers joined the chase into the county and north to Arlington, then back to Marysville. A Snohomish County deputy got in the act, too.

Then, Marysville police Sgt. Deryck McLeod hit the back of the car with his cruiser, causing it to spin out and stop near the intersection of Grove Street and 67th Avenue NE, Krusey said.

But the Honda kept on going, this time head-on toward a patrol car driven by Marysville police officer Ray Riches. At the last second, the Honda driver turned the car sharply, causing it to slide into the front of Riches’ patrol car. Riches then used the patrol car to pin the stolen car to the curb.

The Honda was in fact stolen, having been taken from Everett on Dec. 18, Krusey said.

A 20-year-old Marysville man who had been a passenger and fled from the Honda was arrested on a misdemeanor warrant and booked into the Marysville jail, he said. A second passenger was initially detained and later released.

The Honda’s driver, a 21-year-old Snohomish County man, was arrested on investigation of first-degree possession of stolen property, second-degree assault, felony eluding and a no-bail warrant from the state Department of Corrections for failing to register. He was booked into the Snohomish County Jail.

You can call Herald Writer Cathy Logg at 425-339-3437 or send e-mail to logg@heraldnet.com.