Thurston County deputies arrested five people Thursday who are suspected of fleeing from law enforcement after they had planned to burglarize a cannabis store, Sheriff Derek Sanders shared on Facebook.
The arrests followed a pursuit that ended around 1:30 a.m. in west Thurston County near the tip of Eld Inlet, according to Sanders, jail logs and video from the scene.
In his post, Sanders said he authorized the pursuit after a "reckless driver" fled from two attempted traffic stops, one by an Olympia police officer on the west side and another by a Thurston County deputy.
The driver drove down state Route 8 towards Grays Harbor County but then u-turned back towards Olympia. Video from the scene shows Sanders stretching spike strips across the roadway as the driver barreled down the highway at a high speed.
Deputies then conducted a precision immobilization technique, or PIT maneuver, and the car crashed "firmly into a tree," Sanders said.
Five people in dark clothing and ski masks fled from the vehicle on foot and Sanders said at least one was armed with a handgun.
A deputy let a police dog chase after the driver and the dog made "multiple K9 contacts," Sanders said.
The video shows the dog biting the driver on the ground while he wails and screams. Deputies command the driver to show his hands as the dog bites him. He eventually shows his hands and deputies roll him over to arrest him.
The driver who was bitten was treated at an area hospital, Sanders said.
Sanders said two other people surrendered after hearing the police dog. One of them was found hiding in heavy brush after Olympia police responded with a thermal imaging drone.
The dog found a fifth person hiding in a shed they broke into, Sanders said. The dog also found a backpack containing a handgun and short barrel AR-15 rifle with a scratched-off serial number.
Olympia police obtained a search warrant for the car and found ammunition and large black garbage bags inside, Sanders said. The license plate reportedly had blue tape on it that appeared to alter some of the characters.
Sanders said law enforcement interviewed the five people who were arrested and determined the quintet came to Thurston County from King County to conduct a "smash and grab" burglary at a local cannabis store.
In his post, Sanders said three of the people arrested are adults, one was a juvenile and one refused to identify themselves. All five were booked on suspicion of various crimes, including attempting to elude police, burglary, unlawful possession of firearms and obstructing law enforcement.
The Thurston County jail log shows deputies booked three people, each of them 18, around 2 a.m. on suspicion of the second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, second-degree burglary, obstructing a law enforcement officer and second-degree criminal trespass.
Washington State Patrol, Evergreen State College Police, Olympia Police and Thurston 911 Communications all assisted in the pursuit, Sanders said.
"Nice job by everyone to prevent a smash and grab burglary from terrorizing our local businesses," Sanders said.
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