PORT ANGELES — A Sequim man has been charged with attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle, allegedly driving at more than 40 mph in front of the Sequim Safeway, police said.
Andrew Phillip Gastfield, 22, allegedly drove at more than 40 mph in a 25-mph zone after fleeing from the grocery store at about 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sequim police said.
Police discontinued the pursuit after Gastfield turned off the lights of his Honda Accord, ran a stop sign and continued at a high speed, according to the affidavit for probable cause.
Gastfield was arrested two days later near the Sequim Civic Center, court papers said.
Bail was set at $5,000 Tuesday. He remained in the Clallam County jail Wednesday.
Officer Michael Hill said Gastfield failed to stop in the 100 block of North Seventh Avenue.
“When I attempted to stop the vehicle by activating my emergency lighting, it immediately turned into the Safeway parking lot and accelerated, estimated 40-plus mph, across the front of the store, while it was open for business and over speed bumps,” Hill wrote in the affidavit for probable cause.
“There was an employee standing on the sidewalk as the car sped past only a few feet away.”
The Honda Accord that Gastfield was driving was “very distinctive” because it had a single yellow fog light in the center of the front grille and no passenger side headlight, Hill said.
After his arrest, Gastfield allegedly told police that he fled because he “has anxiety about going to jail and knew that he would because he had a suspended license and the tabs were expired on the vehicle, which they were,” Hill wrote in the probable cause statement.
Gastfield will be arraigned Friday in Clallam County Superior Court.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
