Bremerton police officers arrested and jailed a 28 year old man Thursday night after he attempted to flee in a vehicle.
Officers developed information that Zakery Michael Bonds, who had a felony Deptartment of Corrections arrest warrant for escaping from community custody, was in a vehicle in the parking lot of a gas station on the west side of the city. After confirming the person in the driver’s seat was Bonds, an officer approached the vehicle, a BMW, in the lot. Police say Bonds sped away, almost striking the officer. A patrol sergeant observed the BMW eastbound on Loxie-Eagans Road, activated his overhead lights to initiate a traffic stop and the driver accelerated and went northbound onto National. After the sergeant observed the BMW going into an oncoming lane at high speed, he terminated the pursuit, consistent with the department’s policies.
A short time later a resident called in to report a reckless driver in a red BMW near Olympic College. The car apparently had mechanical difficulty and was now stopped in the 1200 block of Broadway. Officers set up a perimeter in the area and called in K9 officers and FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared Radar) to assist. Several neighbors were advised that a K9 was being used and were asked to go back inside their residences.
A Bremerton officer, who had taken a high position so he could see the entire scene, observed a vehicle turn off Broadway westbound onto 12th and stop, believing it was out of sight of the responding units. The officer observed a man matching Bonds’ description come running out of the back door of a residence and jump into the back seat of the vehicle. He notified other units and the vehicle was stopped. Bonds was found hiding on the floor of the back seat and was taken into custody. The two occupants of the vehicle were interviewed and subsequently arrested for rRendering criminal assistance.
Police say Bonds was in possession of methamphetamine. Bremerton’s K9 Dusty alerted not only the original BMW from the pursuit, but also on the car that picked up the suspect. Both vehicles have been impounded pending application of search warrants. It was noted that on the front side of the driver side mirror on the BMW was stenciled the phrase “Snitches get Stitches.”
“This case is a great example of our officers making safe and reasonable decisions to take a very dangerous offender off our streets,” said Bremerton Police Chief Steve Strachan. “Bonds was playing games and putting people at risk, but our officers worked as a team to ensure public safety and send the strong message to our neighborhoods that we will not tolerate this in Bremerton.”
Bonds is being held on $100,000 bail at the Kitsap County Jail on the escape from custody warrant, as well as probable cause for eluding police and violation of the Uniform Controlled Substance Act (VUCSA) for methamphetamine, both felonies.
