He allegedly fled Bellingham Police in a stolen SUV, but a K-9 tracked him down

Bellingham Police arrested a 20-year-old man who reportedly fled from Bloedel Donovan Park in a stolen SUV, leading police on a short pursuit before crashing and being tracked down by a K-9.

Andrew Marcel Siftsoff was booked into Whatcom County Jail early Sunday morning on suspicion of attempting to elude a police vehicle, unattended hit-and-run and possession of a stolen vehicle and is being held on $30,000 bail.

While conducting a follow-up on another wanted person from an earlier call at approximately 2:53 a.m. at Bloedel Donovan, officers encountered a 1994 Ford Explorer, Lt. Claudia Murphy said. When the driver of the car, who was later identified as Siftsoff, saw the marked police car, he reportedly accelerated toward the officer, before he “fish-tailed” while accelerating away.

The officer turned on lights and sirens, Murphy said, and Siftsoff led them on a pursuit, running several stop signs, before losing control of the car and crashing into a fence in the 3900 block of Alabama Street. The pursuit lasted approximately 90 seconds and covered less than a mile.

After crashing, Siftsoff crawled out the passenger window and ran, Murphy said. Police set up a containment perimeter and called for Officer Kaiser with K-9 Danek to assist in the search. Danek quickly located Sitsoff, and he was taken into custody without incident, though he was first taken to the emergency department at St. Joseph hospital for treatment for minor injuries he suffered while trying to flee.

The Explorer was reported stolen within Bellingham on Saturday, Murphy said.

According to court records, Sitsoff had previously been found guilty of a number of crimes since 2013 in Whatcom County, including most recently fourth-degree assault, second-degree theft and obstructing law enforcement in July.