Two accused of embezzling more than $100k from tribe arrested in Thurston County
Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders posted footage from a pursuit on Jan. 22 that involved two suspects accused of embezzling more than $100,000 from the Cowlitz Tribe.
According to his social media post from around 5 a.m. on Friday, Sanders was on his way to a candlelight vigil Thursday afternoon when he was advised that a truck had blown through a red light at high speed at the intersection of Old Highway 99 and Highway 12 in Grand Mound. He said the advising deputy attempted to stop the truck and it fled, and a pursuit ensued.
Sanders said at one point the truck sped past two school buses on 183rd Avenue. The deputy slowed down, which led to the pursuit being terminated. He said himself and other deputies joined the response to locate the truck as it went further into unincorporated Thurston County.
He said the original pursuing deputy relocated the vehicle on a one-lane private driveway, where the two almost collided head on before the truck turned into a field and crashed.
Sanders said the Washington State Patrol’s airplane Smokey was deployed to help locate the truck and driver. He said Cowlitz Tribal Police advised that they had probable cause for both occupants of the truck for embezzling more than $100,000 from the tribe.
Sanders said the passenger of the truck was found walking through someone’s yard and was detained. A K9 unit had to be used to track down the driver of the truck, who allegedly fled down a steep hill to a creek bed. Sanders said he was detained without further incident.
He said a search warrant was obtained for the truck and several items were recovered, including Cowlitz Tribe property, a Ziploc bag of meth, an unserialized AR15 and handgun, and drug paraphernalia.
Sanders said both suspects were turned over to Cowlitz Tribal Police for booking.
Further details were not immediately available. Check back for updates.
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