A police chase in Washington led to authorities finding a truck that allegedly had a custom bong device built in to its dash for in-transit drug use. It also resulted in the 98th arrest of the truck’s alleged driver.
According to a Facebook post from Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders, the pursuit began when his office received information that a pair of organized retail theft suspects were fleeing north on I5 into Thurston County, Wash., from Lewis County, Wash., this Monday. These suspects had allegedly gone on a crime spree, using stolen bags from one store to steal even more merchandise from another store.
“The pair were also involved in a theft in Lacey just three days prior where they were not apprehended,” said Sanders.
This time, one of the Thurston County deputies spotted the suspect vehicle north on I5 in Olympia, but before emergency lights were engaged, the truck fled, going into downtown Olympia, Wash., at high speeds. Within minutes, deputies and the sheriff began a pursuit as the truck began blowing through intersections, headed to Lacey.
However, it was terminated due to the suspect’s reckless driving. Eventually, the truck was found abandoned and a K9 track was started up when the suspects were located walking through a nearby neighborhood, Sanders explained.
“Both suspects were taken into custody at gunpoint,” he added.
One of the suspects was a male and the other was a female. Sanders said the woman was turned over to the Centralia Police Department “for organized retail theft.”
Meanwhile, the man, also identified as the driver of the truck, was charged with driving under the influence, eluding, and possession of narcotics. He’s also expected to face organized retail theft charges in Lewis County, according to Sanders.
“A search warrant was obtained for the truck, which had thousands of dollars of stolen merchandise from numerous businesses inside,” said the sheriff. “Additionally, the suspect had a custom bong device built into the dash of the truck so he could comfortably smoke drugs while driving. A search warrant was also obtained for the blood of the driver for DUI prosecution.”
In addition to the bong, Sanders said meth, heroin and fentanyl was found in the truck. Prior to this arrest, the alleged driver had been convicted four times for thefts and he also reportedly had 27 misdemeanor convictions and 97 prior arrests.
Sanders also posted video footage of the incident in his Facebook post. He did not include the names of the arrestees.
