Thursday, October 1, 2026
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An 18-year-old man was taken into custody on Friday morning, July 18, following a police chase, crash and foot pursuit near Tumwater Boulevard and Capitol Boulevard in Tumwater.
The Tumwater Police Department said the suspect, identified by police records as Adfin John Elias, was wanted on a felony warrant in King County.
He was believed to be in the Thurston County area at the time of the incident based on information gleaned from an ankle monitor he was wearing.
After contact with officers in a parking lot on New Market Street at 8:50 a.m., the suspect later fled in a vehicle.
But the officers did not pursue, in part because they installed a tracking device under his vehicle. They were able to do so because Elias was snoozing at the time he was located, giving officers time to plant the device.
Shortly after he woke up and fled the scene, the suspect was involved in a crash with two vehicles at the intersection of Tumwater Boulevard and Capitol Boulevard.
While the individuals in one of the vehicles suffered minor injuries, the driver of the other vehicle was critically injured and airlifted to Harbor View Medical Center in Seattle.
The suspect attempted to flee the crash scene on foot, but was arrested nearby. Authorities later confirmed the vehicle he was driving had been stolen during an armed carjacking in King County on July 10, although it's unclear if the suspect was involved in the incident.
Elias is facing multiple charges, including vehicular assault and driving under the influence.
5 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here
KatAshe
This 18 year old with felony warrants, driving a carjacked vehicle needs a huge bail amount imposed on him. He’s proven to be a danger to himself and others. My hope is that a reasonable judge would impose a bail of at least $1 million, hopefully preventing his family from bailing him out.
Wednesday, July 23, 2025 Report this
Tanker1982
I agree with previous comment
Wednesday, July 23, 2025 Report this
DesertMedic
How hard would have been to simply block this driver in as they were sleeping to prevent them from being able to run. Or was this just another Tumwater PD day doing things the wrong way. There should be a in-depth investigation into officers actions that could have prevented this. Sad for the innocent drivers family. Maybe a picture of the other car would show the severity of this.
Thursday, July 24, 2025 Report this
JasonS
DesertMedic, it sounds to me like Tumwater PD planted that device on his car in an attempt to track his movements to see who he was interacting with and to surveil them as part of a larger investigation. The fact that this guy is a terrible driver was just bad luck for everyone.
Thursday, July 24, 2025 Report this
RondaLarsonKramer
@JasonS, unfortunately, mere bad luck wasn't at play. Officers were aware in advance that this person had a warrant and a special designation that urged "caution" by law enforcement. It was reasonable to expect him to try to flee in his vehicle when he woke up and thus endanger bystanders. It was foreseeable. In fact, they expected it, which is why they put a tracking device on his car in the first place. Why they didn't put a boot on the car instead is my question.
Thursday, July 24, 2025 Report this