MLT man arrested Monday after attempting to flee in sheriff’s deputy patrol car

According to the sheriff’s office, deputies responded at around 1:45 a.m. to reports of an assault with weapon at a gas station in the 200 block of 128th Street Southwest in Everett. The initial deputy on the scene learned there were two males who were fighting, and one was armed with a knife and a screwdriver. The male suspect threw the knife down but refused commands to drop the screwdriver.

The deputy began following the suspect on foot with his dog, K-9 Riggs, giving the suspect multiple commands that he was under arrest and to drop the screwdriver, but the man refused to comply. The male suspect walked west, then quickly turned back toward the parking lot of the gas station and picked up his pace.

The suspect re-entered the parking lot, then ran around to the passenger side of the deputy’s patrol car as the deputy followed closely with his dog, the sheriff’s office said. The deputy’s patrol car sensed the deputy’s key fob and unlocked the driver’s door as the suspect made his way around the vehicle and pulled on the handle to open it. The suspect quickly jumped into the driver’s seat of the patrol car and was within reach of the deputy’s rifle. The deputy was able to open the door and immediately gave K-9 Riggs the bite command. As the dog jumped in and bit the suspect’s arm, the suspect put the car in drive and pressed on the gas.

According to the sheriff’s office, the engine revved but the vehicle would not drive due to a vehicle safety feature that ultimately prevented the suspect from driving off. After a physical struggle with the suspect, the deputy and K-9 Riggs successfully removed the suspect from the driver’s seat of the patrol car.

Backup units arrived and the suspect continued to fight with deputies once on the ground. After another struggle, he was taken into custody. The suspect’s screwdriver was recovered inside the deputy’s patrol car and the knife was recovered in nearby bushes.

The suspect was transported to the hospital for treatment before being booked into the Snohomish County Jail for felony harassment, resisting arrest, vehicle theft and probable cause from a previous case of indecent exposure, the sheriff’s office said.