Lake Spanaway golfer helped police nab crime suspect

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Updated: August 2, 2018

Sometimes crime doesn’t pay – especially on a golf course. A golfer at Lake Spanaway scored a hole in one when he assisted in catching a fleeing crime suspect.

When deputies were checking the identifications of a pair of drug suspects on Friday afternoon near Pacific Avenue, the two men were suspected of being associated with a duffel bag found near a gas station on Pacific Avenue in Spanaway.

The bag contained heroin related drug paraphernalia, and several vehicle key fobs. When asked their names, the men gave the deputies false identification.

“When the deputies went to confront the men about giving fake names, the first man jumped on his bicycle and pedaled across Military Lane and onto Pacific Avenue,” the Sheriff’s Department said in a note on social media.

The suspect eventually rode his bike onto the fairway of Lake Spanaway Golf Course. With no way to pursue, except on foot, the deputies couldn’t keep up. The deputies and a civilian driver closed in on the suspect between the 10th and 15th holes.

“As the deputies were jumping out of their vehicle a golfer ran up to the suspect and tackled him off the bicycle,” the Sheriff’s Department said.

The suspect resisted the deputies and had to be tased before he could be placed in handcuffs. It was determined that the 31-year-old suspect had a felony warrant for his arrest. He was booked into the Pierce County Jail for escape from custody, obstruction, making a false statement and resisting arrest.