Suspect arrested after search that closed I-5 in Everett

A suspect was arrested in Everett on Wednesday night after allegedly shooting at deputies, causing a rollover crash, fleeing on foot and causing a shutdown of Interstate 5 that backed up traffic for hours, according to Rebecca Hover, a spokeswoman for the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office.

The suspect, a 23-year-old Lynnwood-area man, was being pursued because deputies at first believed he had stolen the Volkswagen Jetta he was driving. Deputies later learned that the Jetta was not stolen and that the suspect has warrants out for his arrest from the Department of Corrections, Hover wrote in a news release. Further details about the warrants were not immediately available.

The suspect was expected to be booked into the Snohomish County Jail Wednesday night in connection with numerous charges, including assault and vehicular assault, according to Hover.

The man was arrested shortly after 8 p.m. in the 7100 block of Olympic Drive, Hover said.

Deputies began to pursue the Jetta in South Everett just before 6 p.m. They first thought the car had been stolen and the license plates switched, though they later learned the license plates belonged to the car but were canceled, Hover said in the news release.

When they tried to pull over the vehicle, the driver fled. Deputies pursued the Jetta until traffic became too heavy. When traffic decreased, they resumed the pursuit on Highway 526. Shortly after that, the suspect began firing at deputies, and at least one bullet struck a patrol car. There were no injuries, according to Hover.

The suspect headed northbound on I-5 where his car struck the rear of a minivan, sending it down the freeway on its side. The 49-year-old woman driving the van had serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

The suspect also lost control of his vehicle and struck a guardrail. He then left his car and fled on foot into the surrounding area, with a gun in his hand.

With the help of a police dog and community members who called in to report seeing the man, deputies and Everett police officers arrested the man, Hover wrote in the news release.

A woman who was in the car with the suspect during the pursuit and crash was not injured. She has not been arrested.

While law-enforcement officials searched for the suspect, I-5 was fully to partially closed, causing northbound traffic to back up as far as five miles at one point.

The shooting on Highway 526 is being investigated by the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Unit. The crash on I-5 is being investigated by the Sheriff's Office Collision Investigation Unit with assistance from the Washington State Patrol.

Carly Flandro: 206-464-2108 or cflandro@seattletimes.com