The King County Prosecutors Office today filed seven criminal charges against Bryan Wade-Everett who is accused of trying to elude police in a dramatic car chase throughout the Eastside on Tuesday.

Wade-Everett weaved in and out of traffic on I-405 and along the streets of Kirkland, Bothell and Bellevue, and even onto a local golf course before he was stopped near a school in Kirkland where police arrested him. The 50 minute pursuit captured the attention of many Puget Sound residents who watched it unfold live on television.

Wade-Everett, 24, is accused of stealing two cars and also burglarizing two residences and terrorizing residents and other motorists as he tried to elude police.

He was charged today with five felonies: two counts of residential burglary, two counts of theft in the first degree, and one count of attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle. Wade-Everett was also charged with single counts of attempted taking of a motor vehicle without permission in the second degree and reckless endangerment, which are gross misdemeanors. If convicted as charged, he could be sentenced to about four and a half to six years in prison.

"This is a case where car theft is anything but a property crime, and we're lucky someone wasn't seriously injured or killed," said King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng.

In August, Maleng announced a new car theft initiative which calls for a get-tough approach to car thieves and it includes more aggressive prosecution and punishment. Maleng said the new policy is being used in this case.

Wade-Everett was convicted for a similar car chase last year in Shoreline.

The defendant is currently in the King County Jail on $250,000 bail pending arraignment on October 17 at the King County Courthouse in Seattle.


Dated: October 7, 2005