EVERETT — A tow truck driver found his missing vehicle outside a thrift store on Everett Mall Way and confronted the man sitting behind the wheel.
Once he was close enough, the suspected thief swung a knife near the owner’s throat.
It missed but “was within inches of cutting him,” according to documents filed in Snohomish County Superior Court.
The 27-year-old Everett man has been arrested for investigation of first-degree assault and possession of a stolen vehicle. He’s been in trouble before while driving a vehicle that was not his.
The tow truck driver approached his missing vehicle around 3 p.m. Wednesday. It’s not clear how long the truck was missing.
When the suspect swung the knife, the owner punched him in self defense, according to court papers. The Everett man ran, an Everett police officer wrote.
Soon after, an officer with a police dog found the man hiding inside a dumpster across the street. He was booked into the Snohomish County Jail.
About two years ago, the suspect was arrested for attempting to elude police, court records show.
In January 2019, officers were on the lookout for an older F-150 pickup truck with the words “Layin pipe” spray painted near the driver’s side door handle. It reportedly had been used in two armed robberies the day before.
That afternoon, a Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy noticed a truck that looked similar and followed it. The driver turned off the truck lights and started to speed away.
The deputy turned on his siren and emergency lights, but the driver would not stop. A chase ensued from south Everett onto northbound I-5 and into north Everett.
Eventually the deputy used a law enforcement driving technique known as a PIT maneuver — bumping the truck to make it spin out and stop. The chase lasted about 4 miles, with speeds reaching 97 mph, according to a police report.
The suspect reportedly began to struggle as deputies arrested him, trying to kick his feet and roll around on the ground as they attempted to place him in handcuffs.
Later, he talked with a deputy and said he borrowed the truck from a friend for the day. The deputy said he had been looking for the man.
“Looking for me, or looking for the truck?” he responded.
When the deputy asked why he would be looking for the truck, the suspect said his friend “was crazy and probably did some bad stuff with it,” the deputy wrote.
He didn’t know anything else, he told the deputy. He reportedly said he tried to get away because he was scared and didn’t want to go to jail. He had multiple warrants for his arrest.
The deputy wondered why he continued to try to get away on I-5.
“I figured I already ran, I might as well keep going,” the man said.
He was arrested for eluding an officer. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 50 days in jail.
Stephanie Davey: 425-339-3192; sdavey@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @stephrdavey.
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