A burglary suspect who eluded Whatcom County law enforcement for a year finally arrested
Whatcom County law enforcement recently arrested a burglary suspect who has evaded local law enforcement for more than a year.
Carl Ellis Woods, 36, is wanted for several felonies. He is a suspect in a 2023 burglary at a Blaine home, where a resident was assaulted. Woods also is facing several counts of attempting to elude police vehicles. He has been able to escape authorities by driving so recklessly that it became too dangerous to pursue, Lt. Claudia Murphy with the Bellingham Police Department told The Bellingham Herald.
Woods was finally caught Dec. 27 by the Bellingham Police Department when police officers recognized his vehicle, which was running, at the end of a dead-end road in the 2100 block of Xenia Street, near the intersection of Iowa and Yew streets.
Woods’ vehicle, a silver Subaru with stolen plates, turned into a nearby driveway when officers began to pull up. The officers parked their vehicle, a Chevy Tahoe, behind the Subaru, pinning it in. The driver attempted to reverse the Subaru up against the Tahoe but couldn’t get it to move.
When Woods ignored initial commands to exit the vehicle, officers used a 12-gauge bean bag launcher to break out the back window. When Woods continued to ignore demands, officers used a “chemical irritant” on the inside of the vehicle. Woods finally left the vehicle, and police arrested him, according to Murphy.
While making the arrest, Woods called police a number of racial slurs and a homophobic slur. He also said he would find one of the officers off duty and assault him, Murphy said.
Police noticed Woods showed signs of intoxication, and the inside of his vehicle had signs of fentanyl use. Police also found a gun and several realistic looking BB guns as well as another stolen license plate.
Woods was suspected to be in the area as he had been seen by law enforcement on two other occasions in the Bellingham area earlier in the day.
In the early morning of Dec. 27, Western Washington University officers attempted to stop a silver Subaru displaying stolen licenses plates, the Subaru turned of its lights and reportedly drove recklessly through the downtown corridor to Iowa and James Street before the pursuit was called off.
Around 5 p.m., Bellingham police responded to an in-progress burglary after a witness reported an adult male was attempting to kick in a door of an apartment in the 1400 block of Lakeway Drive.
The man was gone before police arrived, but the resident spoke with police and told them the suspect, who was identified as Woods, had attempted to break in because he believed the resident had taken his phone. The resident told police Woods had also picked the lock to the apartment the day before and entered without permission.
The attempted burglary on Lakeway led police to search the area for the suspect and eventually find him on Xenia Street.
Woods was arrested on suspicion of more than a dozen crimes, including multiple counts of attempting to elude a police vehicle, and multiple burglaries, including a first-degree burglary, which is a class A felony.
Woods was already facing charges for attempting to elude a police vehicle on Sept. 8, and is facing charges for the burglary and assault in Blaine from Sept. 1, 2023.
Woods is in custody at Whatcom County Jail with $330,000 in bail.
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