OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — With his training almost finished, the Port Angeles Police Department’s newest police dog, Bogey, helped apprehend two Port Angeles men early Tuesday morning after a brief search in the Deer Park area.
The search through the woods and eventual capture of Joseph Gregory Gaikowski, 27, and Sean Earl Gormley, 25, followed a high-speed chase that started with a State Patrol trooper pursuing a green pickup truck on U.S. Highway 101 near Old Olympic Highway at about 1:30 a.m., police said.
Gaikowski and Gormley each were booked into the Clallam County jail for investigation of possession of a stolen vehicle and eluding a police vehicle.
The 1½-year-old Bogey will formally complete 400 hours of K-9 police dog training with his handler, Officer Lucas DeGand, at a graduation ceremony Thursday, Port Angeles Deputy Police Chief Brian Smith said.
State Patrol Trooper Eric Ellefson attempted to stop the 1997 Ford F150 for investigation of speeding, but the truck’s driver failed to yield, said Trooper Russ Winger, State Patrol spokesman, who added that he did not know the name of the driver.
The truck had been reported stolen.
The Port Angeles Police Department gave this account:
The pursuit reached speeds exceeding 90 mph as the truck continued west on Highway 101 and turned onto Deer Park Road, eventually driving into Olympic National Park past the closed gate.
The truck later was found heavily damaged and abandoned, prompting the trooper to request a police dog from the Police Department to help in the search in the unincorporated area.
Cpl. Kevin Miller brought Jag, a police dog, and DeGand brought Bogey to the area at about 1:48 a.m. to begin their search, Smith said.
After about 15 minutes of tracking Gaikowski and Gormley, DeGand and Bogey found the pair huddled together and hiding in thick brush, Smith said.
The two were arrested without incident, he added.
A fire engine and ambulance from Clallam County Fire District No. 2 responded as a precaution, Smith said, but were not needed to treat Gaikowski or Gormley.
“I have no indication that [the suspects] were treated,” Smith said.
Gormley recently had served 10 days in the Clallam County jail after having pleaded guilty to one count of criminal impersonation Feb. 21, according to information from District Court.
Gormley had been arrested Feb. 15, a day after he told a Sequim thrift shop owner he was a member of the Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team, or OPNET.
Gormley is not an OPNET member, nor is he a police officer.
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Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
