Porch Pirate Arrested In Muddy Chase Near Bonney Lake

BONNEY LAKE, WA - Relentless Pierce County deputies arrested a suspected package thief recently after a chase through muddy wetlands near Orting. At some points, deputies were sloshing through water and mud up to their waists, and one deputy even got stuck for several minutes.

The chase happened around 1:30 a.m. on Dec. 20 along Rhodes Lake Drive near Bonney Lake. After deputies saw a speeding pickup truck, they followed, eventually learning that it had been linked to a man wanted for package theft.

The suspect refused to stop, however, and led deputies on a chase through the McMillin area, reaching speeds of up to 70 MPH. Deputies pursued the truck across a large area, through South Hill, and eventually toward Orting on Orting-Kapowsin Highway.

Near 150th Avenue East, the truck rammed a police car, but deputies were able to position their cars so the truck couldn't move. But that wasn't the end.

The suspect jumped out of his truck and ran toward Orting-Kapowsin Highway. One deputy used a Taser on him - twice - but it didn't stop him. Meanwhile, deputies found a gun, meth residue, and a bag full of possible burglary tools in the abandoned truck.

After crawling through thick brush, mud, and waist-deep water, deputies found the suspect's shoes stuck in the mud. But it was K9 Zepp who, after searching for more than an hour in the woods, found the 32-year-old suspect face-down in the water.

The deputies fashioned a bridge over a creek out of a ladder and pallets and carried the suspect to a nearby farm field to wait for medics to arrive. And although they too got stuck in the mud, police and paramedics eventually arrived. After being treated for hypothermia, the suspect was take to jail on charges of felony eluding, unlawful possession of a gun, hit-and-run, resisting arrest, identity theft, mail theft, and possession of stolen property.

Image courtesy PCSO