A 26-year-old Port Townsend man was arrested for attempting to elude police, driving under the influence, and reckless endangerment early Saturday morning after he allegedly fled from a Washington State Patrol trooper who tried to stop him for speeding on US Highway 101.
Myles Quentin Hundley made his first appearance Monday in Jefferson County Superior Court via a video link from the county jail.
Jefferson County Prosecutor James Kennedy said Hundley was wanted on an outstanding warrant in Mason County on second-degree criminal trespassing and resisting arrest.
Kennedy also said Hundley had other traffic infractions in his past, as well as a DUI charge from May 2022 that was dismissed.
Hundley was a danger to himself and others in the community, Kennedy said, and added Hundley had put his passenger’s life at risk with his driving. The prosecutor asked Judge Brandon Mack to set bail at $25,000.
Julie St. Marie, Hundley’s attorney, said the earlier DUI charge had been dropped along with a “slew of other cases” last year after faulty findings from the state crime lab were reported in breath tests for drunken driving cases.
St. Marie said there is a presumption of a person’s release from jail on cases not involving violent crime, and told the judge Hundley had strong ties to the community and steady employment.
She asked that Hundley be released on his personal recognizance, and Mack agreed.
Hundley was detained by a Jefferson County sheriff’s deputy after allegedly fleeing from a state trooper just after 1 a.m. Saturday, April 29.
The police pursuit began after the trooper, driving south on US 101 near the Highway 104 intersection, saw a driver in a pickup truck driving 85 mph while passing another car in the northbound lane.
The trooper made a U-turn and tried to pull over the truck driver, according to a statement of probable cause, and said the driver sped up and “reached speeds of at least
100 mph while fleeing the traffic stop.”
The truck driver, later identified as Hundley, continued north on US 101.
The state patrolman lost sight of the pickup on US 101 and continued east on Highway 20, looking for a potential collision.
Jefferson County deputies were notified of the incident, according to court documents, and a deputy soon found the pickup truck parked in a driveway in the 3600 block of Eaglemount Road.
Hundley was taken into custody and placed in a deputy’s car. A passenger in the pickup, a 23-year-old woman, said Handley had picked her up in Sequim and they had been driving around drinking, with no particular place to go.
Deputies found multiple cases and empty cans of alcoholic beverages in the pickup, and Hundley was arrested for DUI just after
1:40 a.m. Saturday.
Breathalyzer tests made at the county jail just before 3 a.m. Saturday had readings of 0.124/0.126 and 0.126/0.127, according to a statement of probable cause.
In addition to the criminal charges of reckless driving and felony eluding, Hundley was cited for speeding and having an open container of alcohol.
The state trooper who arrested Hundley noted that it was the second time that he had arrested Hundley for DUI, and that he was speeding with a passenger in both cases.
During his court appearance Monday, Hundley was told he could not operate a vehicle that did not have an ignition interlock device.
His arraignment on the three criminal charges was set for May 12.
Conviction of attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle can result in a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
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