Kent Police arrested two men early Wednesday morning in the Panther Lake area after about an eight-block car chase that included the driver hitting a police vehicle.
The incident started at about 4:19 a.m. when a neighbor called 911 to report a suspicious vehicle in the 11800 block of Southeast 204th Street with the occupants of the car prowling mailboxes, according to an email from Assistant Chief Pat Lowery.
“Officers arrived within minutes and attempted to block the car into the cul-de-sac where the crime was occurring,” Lowery said. “The driver steered the unreported stolen car around the stopped police vehicle, sideswiped another patrol vehicle pulling in behind the primary car, then fled the area.”
Both police vehicles turned and gave chase. Officers followed the car for about eight blocks when the driver left the street for a private driveway, then abandoned the car when he reached the end of the driveway and fled on foot.
“Both occupants tried to elude officers on foot, though the passenger was caught immediately,” Lowery said. “The driver ran into some nearby woods and was subsequently captured by a responding Kent Police canine unit.”
There were no injuries as a result of the suspect vehicle striking the police car.
Police quickly identified the suspect vehicle as being stolen from the same neighborhood earlier Wednesday morning. Officers recovered in the car a quantity of mail stolen from the local neighborhood as well.
The vehicle passenger, a 29-year-old transient, was arrested for investigation of possessing stolen property.
The driver, a 25-year-old Kent man was arrested for investigation of possessing stolen property, auto theft and attempting to elude police. Both men are expected to be charged by prosecutors Wednesday or Thursday.
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