Carpenter set for trial for vehicular assault, eluding

A Gold Bar man alleged to have eluded Sky Valley law enforcement over several days in March before a crash ended his lucky streak will go on trial on three felony charges later this month.

Brandon Lee Carpenter's trial starts at 1 p.m. Aug. 17. The Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has charged the 26-year-old with vehicular assault, possession of a stolen vehicle and attempt to elude a police vehicle in Snohomish County Superior Court.

He was taken into custody this spring after he allegedly crashed a stolen gold Mazda Miata he was driving into the back of a Ford Excursion. Carpenter reportedly tried to flee on foot, but then fell down a 40-foot embankment off U.S. Highway 2.

Carpenter was strapped to a stretcher and taken to the hospital, and then to jail, where he is still being held on $250,000 bail, according to the prosecuting attorney's office.

Snohomish County Sheriff's deputies and Monroe Police officers were after him for days leading up to his arrest. He was reportedly spotted in multiple stolen cars, clocked at speeds nearly four times as fast as the posted limit, and tried to ram police vehicles.

Sultan Deputy Chris Johnson wrote in court documents that on March 25 he saw a green Honda Accord turn abruptly from Fifth to Fourth Street, then roll through a stop sign onto Main Street. He ran the plates and saw the car was stolen. Johnson lost track of Carpenter, but soon found the car abandoned in berry bushes near a gravel road.

A female passenger was left in the abandoned car. She allegedly told Johnson that Carpenter had been driving, and fled into the Skykomish River, according to probable cause documents. Johnson reported finding a wallet with Carpenter's identification in the car.

Monroe Police Officer Devin Tucker caught up to Carter later that day, allegedly driving another stolen car. He pulled into Lewis Street Park after seeing a maroon Honda Civic in the driveway of a known drug house, according to court documents. Tucker waited until a man get into the car, then turned on his sirens and moved quickly to block an escape.

“The car peeled out of the driveway and cut around the front of my patrol vehicle in the yard of the house directly south of 518 Lewis Street,” according to the documents.
Carpenter allegedly drove the Honda onto the sidewalk to get around Monroe Police Officer Jason Southard's roadblock on Sumac Drive. He almost lost control, his tires making skid marks as he swerved erratically while speeding down residential roads, according to court documents. He reportedly used the shoulder of South Lewis Street to pass traffic, putting the safety of walkers, drivers and businesses were at risk, according to court documents.

Carpenter allegedly blew through a red light, and officers abandoned pursuit after losing him at State Route 522.

Monroe Police officer Trevor Larson saw him three hours later, and he watched as Monroe Police Sgt. Spencer Robinson had to quickly abandon a blockade he'd set up with his car, at risk of being struck by Carpenter, who had allegedly aimed his speeding car right for Robinson, according to court documents.

Johnson visited the Gold Bar man's last known address three days after the incident in Sultan. Carpenter's mother and her boyfriend reportedly told Johnson they saw Carpenter with the Honda, and Carpenter's mother said her son had called her the day he allegedly crashed the car in Sultan and admitted it was stolen.

Carpenter had allegedly found the gold Mazda Miata a few days later. He and a 29-year-old Arlington woman were spotted in a parking lot near the intersection of Main Street and State Route 2 early that afternoon.

Monroe Police followed him after he reportedly fled again. He was finally caught after falling down the embankment. The woman was treated for a head injury and was investigated for possession of a stolen vehicle.