Whatcom man reportedly leads series of high-speed chases and rams police car after theft
A man suspected of stealing more than $800 in groceries reportedly led several Whatcom County law enforcement agencies on a series of high-speed chases before ultimately ramming an Everson Police Department vehicle with a officer still inside.
The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office booked Anthony Michel Santoro Lake, 51, Monday, Feb. 21, into Whatcom County Jail on suspicion of first-degree assault and multiple counts of attempting to elude police vehicles, reckless driving and second-degree theft. Jail records show he is being held in lieu of $25,000 bail.
According to Whatcom County Superior Court documents:
▪ The Lynden Police Department was called at approximately 8:34 p.m. Monday to the Safeway on Guide Meridian for the report of a theft. Employees and witnesses reported seeing a man, later identified as Lake, load $838.71 in groceries into a shopping cart, leave the store without paying and put the stolen groceries in his white Honda Civic with significant damage on the passenger side and tape over the back light.
▪ Lake then drove out of the parking lot, where a second Lynden Police officer spotted the Civic at approximately 8:41 p.m. driving southbound on Guide Meridian.
▪ The officer activated his emergency lights and siren, but Lake accelerated away and drove “aggressively” through the roundabout at Wiser Lake Road, prompting the officer to terminate the pursuit.
▪ The officer continued to follow at a distance and saw Lake’s Civic turn east on East Pole Road, pass three cars in a double-yellow line area and force other cars to take evasive actions to avoid collisions as it sped away at speeds estimated in excess of 80 mph. The officer eventually lost sight of the Civic and radioed to let the Everson Police Department know that the Lake might be continuing east on Pole Road.
▪ At approximately 8:50 p.m., Lake’s Civic was spotted by an Everson Police officer heading eastbound on Everson Goshen Road near Sable Drive. The officer saw the Civic accelerate, pass several vehicles in a double-yellow zone and turn east onto Robinson Road, cutting off a vehicle Lake had just passed in the process. The Civic then turned south on Mission Road, and the officer estimated he was driving more than 80 mph in a 25 mph zone.
▪ The officer activated his emergency lights, but Lake accelerated to more than 110 mph and passed other victims, prompting the Everson officer to terminate that pursuit and eventually lose sight of the Civic.
▪ A sheriff’s deputy located the Civic at the dead end of Mission Road south of East Smith Road, and asked the Everson officer to assist him.
▪ As the deputy and officer approached the Civic with their emergency lights on, Lake accelerated and rammed the front driver’s side of the Everson patrol car with enough force that it knocked a rifle out of the gun rack inside the vehicle. Lake continued to attempt to drive through the patrol car, but the officer was able to get out of the vehicle.
▪ The Everson officer broke out a passenger side window in the Civic, prompting Lake to stop. But as the deputy and officer approached to attempt removing Lake from the Civic, Lake put the car in reverse and drove at the deputy, forcing him to run out of the way to avoid getting hit. The Everson officer also had to get up against the sheriff’s car to avoid getting hit.
▪ Lake then drove west on East Smith Road, and the law enforcement officers were not able to catch up.
▪ Two other deputies spotted the Civic doing 76 mph in a 45 mph zone and run a red light at Guide Meridian, then accelerate to more than 100 mph with a deputy behind him with emergency lights on headed southbound on Guide Meridian.
▪ The deputy was able to see Lake pull into the parking lot of the Comfort Inn in Bellingham and run into the hotel on foot.
▪ Law enforcement found Lake hiding in a closet in room 223 and took him into custody.
Whatcom County Superior Court records show Lake also is expected to be arraigned then on second-degree theft for a separate theft incident last September at a Bellingham Fred Meyer. He already was scheduled to begin a jury trial on March 21 on third-degree retail theft charges from an incident in July and second-degree theft charges from an incident last March.
