Randall Taufetee, 32, had been released early from prison last Friday, April 16. Within a day, he was on his way back in.
Starting at 3:02 a.m. Saturday, he allegedly went on a high-speed joy ride, traveling at speeds of 120 miles per hour before he was stopped by Thurston County Sheriff’s deputies according to the Sheriff’s Office report.
The silver Lexus GS400 sedan allegedly driven by Taufetee passed a Sheriff’s Deputy on Old Pacific Hwy SE in the Nisqually Valley area. The sedan made a right turn onto Kuhlman Rd SE, heading west, accelerating rapidly. The Lidar device in the Sheriff’s vehicle clocked the sedan travelling at 47 mph on a street clearly marked as 25 mph. With the deputy in pursuit, the sedan continued to accelerate.
The sedan turned left on Nisqually Cutoff Rd SE; the Sheriff’s Deputy turned on hisr emergency lights. Taufetee’s vehicle crossed onto Steilacoom Rd SE at 7th Ave SE, crossing over to the wrong side of the road. The vehicle was traveling at 100 mph on a street marked as 35 mph. At this location, there were many bumps in the roadway, and every time Taufetee’s vehicle hit them, his vehicle’s undercarriage “would spark in all different directions,” according to the Sheriff’s Incident Report.
Taufetee drove up the Nisqually Hill at speeds of 80 mph, continued on Steilacoom Rd SE, and traveled through Dutterow Rd SE intersection at 100 mph – without stopping. The vehicle increased its speed to 120 mph westbound on Steilacoom Road, a 35 mph zone. At this location, there was light citizen traffic.
Taufetee slammed on his brakes, making a left on Chatham Dr SE to head southbound. When he made this turn, he was traveling so fast that he nearly collided with parked cars on the roadway. The sedan was traveling at speeds of 85 mph in a 25 mph residential zone.
Taufetee’s vehicle made it to Pacific Ave SE and Chatham Dr SE intersection. The vehicle turned eastbound onto Pacific without stopping at the stop sign. There were no vehicles oncoming westbound at Pacific to interfere with Taufetee.
The chase at speeds of up to 100 MPH. When the sheriff’s deputy finally caught up with the sedan, Taufetee slowed down and came to a stop near the roundabout at Pacific Ave SE and Marvin Rd SE. Refusing to comply or provide any communication to the sheriff’s deputy, Taufetee stayed in his vehicle until more deputies arrived.
The police report says that Taufetee exited the vehicle with a smile on his face “like he was having fun.” He told the Deputy that he only stopped because the Deputy had caught up to him in the pursuit and that he couldn’t believe he “couldn’t outrun us” in the Lexus. “You guys must get the supercharged cars,” Taufetee told the deputy.
Taufetee was informed that had he just stopped he would have gotten a ticket. Taufetee told the deputies that he had never been arrested for pursuit and thought it would be fun to try. “Governor Inslee let me out of prison early and I wanted to have some fun,” he said, according to the police report.
Taufetee was booked in the Thurston County Jail for attempting to elude a police vehicle.
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