Blaine teen arrested after high-speed chase

A Blaine teenager was arrested in the early morning hours of August 14 after an hours-long incident involving multiple law enforcement agencies that began with a stolen Cadillac Escalade, led to a high-speed chase, a collision with a parked car and mailbox and finally an arrest at a home in Blaine.

The driver, whose name was not released due to being a juvenile, was booked into Whatcom County Jail on one count of possession of a stolen vehicle, one count of attempt to elude police, one count of second-degree malicious mischief and one count of third-degree malicious mischief, according to Blaine Police Department sergeant Tim Richardson.

The encounter began at 8:13 p.m. on August 13 when a BPD officer noticed a 2013 Cadillac Escalade in the parking lot of the Dank of America dispensary at 2530 Peace Portal Drive with license plates that matched the description of a vehicle reported stolen the previous day. After the BPD officer engaged its sirens, the driver of the Escalade fled southbound on Peace Portal Drive, then to Blaine Road, ignoring stop signs at speeds of up to 95 mph in an attempt to evade police, Richardson said.

The chase continued eastbound onto Birch Bay-Lynden Road, then onto I-5 southbound where speeds topped out at 120 mph, Richardson said. The driver exited the freeway westbound at the Grandview Road exit and headed back toward downtown Blaine, according to Richardson.

By then, multiple law enforcement agencies were assisting BPD on the pursuit, with Whatcom County sheriff’s deputies, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, and K9 units from Bellingham Police Department, Richardson said.

The driver began to slow at 8th and E streets, then collided with a parked car and mailbox, and fled the scene along with a passenger. Both the driver and passenger were identified as juveniles according to
Richardson.

An adult approached officers asking to collect the contents left behind in the stolen vehicle. Later that night, now early morning, the adult led officers to the location of the driver, in a Blaine-area home.

After being read his Miranda rights, the driver reportedly asked BPD officers if he could retrieve his cell phone from the stolen vehicle.

Richardson told The Northern Light that while civilian pedestrians and drivers did have to avoid the ongoing chase, no bystanders were harmed, and no shots were fired by BPD officers.