Gold Bar man facing felony charges after U.S. 2 collision

Brandon Lee Carpenter reportedly eluded law enforcement three times in the same day less than a week before he crashed a stolen gold Mazda Miata into the back of a Ford Excursion and was arrested, according to court documents.

The Gold Bar man was allegedly seen at the wheel of at least three different stolen cars in that timeframe, according to probable cause documents. He allegedly tried to ram a Monroe Police patrol vehicle, drove on sidewalks and was seen speeding close to 80 mph in a 25-mph zone as he fled from officers in downtown Monroe on March 25.

Carpenter, 26, is being charged with seven felonies in Snohomish County District Court. His behavior was so erratic, according to court documents, that officers decided to back off from his pursuit. That same day Carpenter was followed by Snohomish County Sheriff's deputy Chris Johnson, who started at the Sultan Police Department in February.

Johnson noted a green Honda Accord turn abruptly from Fifth to Fourth Street, then roll through a stop sign onto Main Street, according to the documents. He ran the plates and found the car was stolen. Johnson lost track of Carpenter, but soon found the car in berry bushes near a gravel road.

A female passenger left in the abandoned car allegedly told Johnson that Carpenter was driving and that he had run to the Skykomish River, according to probable cause documents. A K9 unit was dispatched, but the man who fled on foot wasn't found. Johnson reportedly discovered a wallet with Carpenter's identification in the car, and went to his last known address three days later.

Carpenter's mother and her boyfriend said Carpenter came back to the Gold Bar home about a month ago with the Honda, according to the documents. He told them he had bought it from his girlfriend's father, and the title stayed in his name. Carpenter's mother said her son called her the day he allegedly crashed the car and told her it had been stolen.

Shortly before 6 p.m. the night Carpenter reportedly ran from law enforcement in Sultan, Monroe Police Officer Devin Tucker pulled into Lewis Street Park after seeing a maroon Honda Civic in the driveway of a known drug house, according to PC documents. He waited until a man got into the car, 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 vehicle onto the sidewalk to get around Monroe Police Officer Jason Southard's roadblock on Sumac Drive. He nearly lost control, his tires making skid marks as he swerved erratically while speeding down residential roads, according to court documents. He reportedly eventually began heading north on South Lewis Street, where he used the shoulder to pass traffic.

Walkers, drivers and even businesses were at risk, according to court documents. Carpenter allegedly tried to hit patrol vehicles, blew through a red light, and was finally lost when he made it to State Route 522. By that time officers had given up the pursuit.

Three hours later Monroe Police Officer Trevor Larson was stopped at the intersection of South Kelsey Street and West Main Street when he recognized the maroon Honda.

“I heard the sound of tires squealing behind me, as if someone had slammed on the breaks of their vehicle to come to a quick stop,” he wrote in his report. “...The stolen vehicle quickly reversed away from me and spun 180 degrees to face southbound on South Kelsey Street.”

Law enforcement was once again after Carpenter, according to court documents, and he sped past Larson, who estimated the car's speed at close to 80 mph, as he tried to set spike strips. Monroe Police Sgt. Spencer Robinson had parked his car diagonally to block southbound traffic.

Larson watched as Carpenter hurtled toward the blockade, veer from the northbound lane that was empty of oncoming traffic, and head straight toward Robinson, according to court documents. Quick thinking, Larson wrote, is all that got his colleague out of the way.

Tucker was the last officer to reportedly spot Carpenter in Monroe that evening, as he was heading north on Chain Lake Road.

About six days later, Carpenter had allegedly found a new ride, a gold Mazda Miata. He and a 29-year-old Arlington woman were sighted in a parking lot near the intersection of Main Street and State Route 2 around 1 p.m. last Saturday, March 31.

Officers attempted a stop, and Carpenter reportedly fled again, heading east.

A Monroe Police release states he tried to brake before colliding with the back of a Ford Excursion. He ran, and allegedly jumped down a 40-foot embankment.

Officers attended to Carpenter after placing him in custody, the release states, and an aid car was called in to assist with removing him from the embankment. He was transported to EvergreenHealth Monroe for minor injuries, according to the release, and the woman was taken to the hospital for a head injury. She was also being investigated for possession of a stolen vehicle.

Carpenter's next court date is scheduled for April 20, according to the Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. He was charged with two counts of first-degree assault with a deadly weapon, one count of attempt to elude and one count of possession of a stolen vehicle for his actions on March 25, as well as one count of vehicular assault, one count of attempt to elude and one count of possession of a stolen vehicle, for those witnessed on March 31; all seven counts are felonies. 

Carpenter is still in custody, according to the prosecutor's office. His combined bail is set at $350,000 for both cases.