PORT ANGELES — A man who said he was honoring God when he led police on a high-speed chase across the West End last April was convicted by a jury Thursday in Clallam County Superior Court.
Lawrence R. Pearson, 47, of Ocean Shores, who was convicted of attempting to elude law enforcement and third-party endangerment, faces up to six years in prison.
He will be sentenced July 22.
Pearson led law-enforcers on a 44-mile chase April 9 at speeds of up to 100 mph on U.S. Highway 101.
The chase began near Sappho when his car buzzed by a Clallam County sheriff’s deputy, and it ended at Lincoln Street and Lauridsen Boulevard in Port Angeles shortly after he drove over a police spike strip that flattened the car’s tires.
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.
No one was injured.
During a lengthy statement in court Thursday that covered his religious beliefs, favorite food, his love for music and poetry and future goals, Pearson said:
“The truth is, the reason I did that, I did it to honor my god. I love him and he gives me courage.
“I don’t live in fear.”
He also said he was coming to Port Angeles to distribute Bibles.
His attorney, Lane Wolfley, said there won’t be an appeal.
Pearson will face trial again Aug. 2 in Superior Court for a second-degree assault charge.
Pearson allegedly assaulted his Clallam County jail cellmate 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.
