EVERETT — A Snohomish County man was sentenced to 11⅓ years in prison Monday, resolving cases where he had been charged with eight felonies.
Josiah Degenstein, 27, had been accused of escaping police and ramming into their vehicles while awaiting trial for other criminal charges.
On Monday, he pleaded guilty to six crimes: second-degree assault, possession of fentanyl with intent to deliver, two counts of first-degree unlawful firearm possession and two counts of driving with a suspended license.
Nine counts were dismissed as part of his plea agreement. Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Miguel Duran approved the deal.
In September of last year, Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies on patrol near Granite Falls noticed Degenstein and another man outside a storage unit. The men ran off when they saw the cops, according to court documents.
Deputies learned Degenstein had been renting the unit. After obtaining a search warrant, law enforcement searched the place. They seized a cache of weapons, including a 5.56 mm rifle, a .223-caliber rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun, an SKS rifle and two AR-15 rifles without serial numbers. Under state law, Degenstein was not allowed to have guns because of prior felonies.
Police tracked him down in late December 2022. While arresting him, police searched his car and found a lanyard with a key for another storage unit, detectives wrote. The storage unit had more weapons, including five guns and a Wildcat C5 crossbow.
In January, prosecutors charged Degenstein with two counts of first-degree unlawful firearm possession, a felony.
Degenstein posted $50,000 bail in March.
Six days later, Degenstein missed a court date, leading to a felony escape warrant. Degenstein escaped police on two different occasions when officers tried to pursue him, according to a police report.
In July, sheriff’s deputies, Everett police and Department of Corrections officers surrounded Degenstein in the 3400 block of Oakes Avenue. Degenstein accelerated forward as he attempted a U-turn to escape the officers. He crashed into the passenger side of an officer’s car, the charges said.
Degenstein then drove head-on into a deputy’s patrol car. A Mountlake Terrace officer’s car pinned Degenstein’s car from behind, according to court documents.
The crashes injured a correctional officers’ neck and wrist, as well as a deputy’s neck. Police broke out the window of Degenstein’s car, dragged him out and arrested him. Officers searched his car and found a 9 mm pistol, about 10,000 counterfeit fentanyl pills and fentanyl powder, along with 183 grams of meth, digital scales, unused baggies, a drug ledger containing people’s names and an “improvised explosive device,” according to the police report.
A bomb technician determined the device was likely a cherry bomb, court documents said.
In August, prosecutors charged Degenstein with 13 crimes, in addition to the two he already faced. The illegal explosives charge was dropped in the plea deal.
Court records show Degenstein had nine previous felony convictions as an adult and one as a minor.
Jonathan Tall: 425-339-3486; jonathan.tall@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @snocojon.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
