Man flees police over alleged stolen bike tire

A man was arrested after allegedly stealing a bike tire then giving chase to police, hitting a patrol car in the process.

Sebastian Adam Cain Barnett, 24, was arrested on July 11 after a reported theft at the Home Depot on Kingswood Drive in Tumwater. The reporting party said she parked and locked her bike outside the store and came out to see that one tire had gone missing.

The reporting party noted that a man, later identified as Barnett, was looking in her direction when she came out of the store. The suspect had two bikes with him, and was riding one and pushing the other while heading to a Walmart.

Police found Barnett traveling northbound on Littlerock Road in front of Walmart.

The chase

An officer told Barnett to stop, but the suspect began to ride away. The officer observed that a tire was attached to Barnett’s backpack. When he told Barnett that he was under arrest, the suspect let go of the bike he was pushing and fled.

A second officer later located Barnett on Tyee Drive. The officer said Barnett ignored her orders to stop, so she stopped her patrol vehicle at a crosswalk as she anticipated that the suspect would cross the road.

Barnett collided with a rear door frame on the driver’s side, leaving a dent, the officer said. The suspect then got back up and continued to flee.

Police later found Barnett on Trosper Road. An officer who followed him noted that the suspect no longer had the tire or his backpack. Barnett fled while looking back at the patrol car with the lights and sirens on, an officer said.

Eventually, police began pursuing Barnett on foot as the suspect dropped his bicycle and ran off. Barnett then fell to the ground and said he was giving up, one officer said.

An officer said Barnett told police, “Good job, you guys don’t give up."

Barnett told an officer that he and a friend went to Home Depot, but he stayed outside to avoid getting his bike stolen. The suspect said he had been building a specialized bike that required a certain kind of tire, which he had not been able to get.

The suspect admitted seeing the tire he needed on the reporting party’s bike, so he took it. Barnett told police that he knew it was stupid and he knew better, but he wanted the tire.

‘It’s not right’

"I was just trying to enjoy a bike ride to Home Depot to get some tools that I needed,” the woman who reported the incident said in a witness statement.

“We were in the store maybe 10 minutes,” she added. “It’s not even the tire that I am upset about but the fact that they think they can just steal whatever they want; it’s not right."

An officer noted that Barnett apologized repeatedly. The suspect also said he was not paying attention when he collided with the patrol car.

Barnett said he ditched the stolen tire and his backpack in a wooded area between Trosper Road and I-5 southbound.

The reporting party confirmed that the tire was hers. However, she said Barnett was not the man who stole from her. She said the man she saw was not wearing bandanas and had blond hair. Barnett’s hair was light brown.

Police noted that in her initial call to dispatchers, the reporting party described the suspect as having blond or brown hair.

Authorities confirmed that Barnett had a felony warrant for third-degree assault. The suspect also admitted to using meth. He was booked into the Thurston County Jail for third-degree theft, obstructing justice, hit and run, and his outstanding warrant.