Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers apprehended a 30-year-old man June 18 who attempted to cross the border in a stolen car before fleeing on foot, Washington State Patrol (WSP) trooper Kelsey Harding said.
A Seattle resident, 30, was booked into Whatcom County Jail June 18 and charged with second-degree assault of a deadly weapon, possession of a stolen vehicle and attempting to elude a police vehicle.
Around 5 p.m. June 18, a WSP trooper responded to a theft at T.J. Maxx in Bellingham, according to the affidavit of probable cause (APC). What-Comm 911 Dispatch notified the trooper that three suspects had arrived in a stolen white 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe. The trooper spotted and followed the vehicle and attempted to make a traffic stop by pinning the vehicle into a parking spot. While a passenger ran, the driver rammed the patrol vehicle and escaped.
Another WSP trooper pursued the Hyundai but a supervisor called off the pursuit for safety reasons. The vehicle accelerated to 120 mph and weaved in and out of traffic recklessly, according to the APC.
The vehicle ended up stopped in the Peace Arch border wait. Harding said the driver attempted to flee on foot and was apprehended by CBSA.
Bellingham Police Department spokesperson Claudia Murphy said at this time it is unknown whether the passengers who fled the vehicle committed a crime.
“It’s great to have local agencies work together to apprehend the subject,” Harding said. “This was three agencies cooperating with each other.”
The man’s arraignment hearing was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Friday, June 30. He is being held on $50,000 appearance bond or $5,000 cash.
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