PORT ANGELES — Lawrence Pearson will spend 20 months in prison for leading authorities on a high-speed chase across the West End last spring.
Pearson, 47, of Ocean Shores was sentenced Thursday in Clallam County Superior Court.
The chase, which reached speeds of more than 90 mph, occurred April 9 on U.S. Highway 101.
It began near Sappho when Pearson buzzed by a Clallam County sheriff’s deputy and ended in Port Angeles after his car drove over a police spike strip.
Pearson said during his trial that he was on his way to Port Angeles to distribute Bibles.
He also said he was honoring God by leading authorities on the chase.
Along with sheriff’s deputies and Port Angeles police, the chase involved Olympic National Park rangers, National Forest enforcement officers, U.S. Border Patrol agents and a State Patrol trooper.
A jury convicted Pearson of attempting to elude law enforcement and third-party endangerment July 1. He faced up to six years in prison.
Pearson will face trial again Sept. 13 in Superior Court on a second-degree assault charge.
He allegedly assaulted his Clallam County jail cell mate May 25 by punching him in the face and bashing his head against a wall and toilet after the two finished a dispute over the Bible, according to court documents.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
