EDMONDS — When it comes to crime, Brian Michael Warnock allegedly is an overachiever.
The Everett man is now jailed, awaiting trial on five felonies, including robbery, burglary and arson. The allegations all stem from a single spree that began with a morning of mayhem in south Snohomish County.
Early April 9, three days after he turned 30, Warnock reportedly was spotted by Edmonds police, seated behind the wheel of a stolen car stopped in a parking lot along Highway 99.
“An officer ordered the defendant to place his hands on the steering wheel and not move,” deputy prosecutor Chris Dickinson said in Snohomish County Superior Court papers.
Instead, Warnock reportedly threw the car into gear. And the chase was on.
The car headed toward I-5, and then south along the northbound lanes. The driver bailed before reaching the King County line and disappeared into the dark.
Hours later, a woman spotted Warnock hiding in her yard, located in the 23200 block of 63rd Avenue W., in Mountlake Terrace, bordering the freeway, Dickinson said.
The man said he was hiding from police and asked her not to call 911. She did. He ran.
Not long after, Warnock forced his way into a home in the 23300 block of 66th Avenue W, the prosector said. The defendant reportedly threatened to hurt a woman who lived there. He demanded her car keys and left in her Volkswagen Jetta.
An Edmonds officer who was part of the police dragnet happened by, and the chase began anew.
“The defendant drove the stolen car off the road and through backyards of neighboring residences, crashing through fences as he did so,” the prosecutor said. “He ultimately drove the car down an embankment and abandoned it and fled.”
The next stop was a condominium in the 23400 block of Lakeview Drive, where Warnock allegedly threw a chair through a sliding glass door. He demanded the man inside give him his car keys, and drove away in a Nissan Sentra.
Warnock reportedly soon abandoned that car, too, and tried hiding at businesses along Highway 99, stealing a cellphone before running again, Dickinson said.
With police hot on his trail, Warnock allegedly forced his way into a home in the 7300 block of 224th Street SW. The family inside fled as police surrounded the house.
The SWAT team was called while negotiators attempted to talk Warnock into surrendering. Instead, he threatened to kill himself and burn the house down.
After a standoff that lasted hours, police shot tear gas into the home. That’s when they say Warnock lit a fire in a bathroom and attempted to climb out a back window. He was swiftly captured, reportedly carrying jewelry stolen from the house.
Dickinson has charged Warnock with two counts of second-degree robbery for forcing the car owners to give up their keys, one count of attempting to elude police, one count of burglary and one count of first-degree arson.
Warnock also is a suspect in a March home-invasion robbery involving firearms, and charges are expected in that case, too, the prosecutor said.
The defendant has prior convictions for assault and robbery. His trial on the Edmonds charges is scheduled for June. Meanwhile, bail has been set at $500,000.
Scott North: 425-339-3431; north@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @snorthnews
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