WSP Troopers with assistance from their aircraft “Smokey” tracked a suspect vehicle in a weapons brandishing from Clark County to King County on Friday. When the vehicle pulled into an ATM in Auburn, Troopers moved in and made the arrest.
Around 12:00 pm on Friday, August 19th, WSP Dispatch received calls about the driver of a Toyota Camry brandishing a weapon at other drivers on I-5 north. Troopers located and attempted to stop the vehicle, but it fled. The vehicle returned as a stolen car and it was also involved in two recent shootings in the Portland area.
Troopers did not pursue the vehicle, but little did the driver know, he was being tracked by a WSP plane. He was tracked through Thurston County on I-5 north. The driver eventually pulled into a Heritage Bank ATM drive-thru in Auburn. Troopers were able to prevent the subject from escaping and made the arrest without incident.
Detectives are applying for a search warrant for the car, according to WSP. There was a gun in plain view on the floorboard. The suspect has been booked into King County Jail for eluding and possession of stolen property, pending additional charges.
“This is a tremendous example of coordination from WSP districts as this vehicle headed north from Vancouver.” WSP wrote in their press release. “The Aviation Section of the WSP played such a vital role in tracking this vehicle so troopers did not have to pursue. This was an awesome job with Districts 5, 1 and 2 as there was seamless communication and coordination with the aircraft to ultimately bring this to a close.”
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