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Washington man charged after allegedly leading police on chase with stolen lawn mower

Judge's gavel. (Staff Sgt. Nicholas Rau/U.S. Air Force)

An Eatonville man is charged after he allegedly led police on a high-speed chase last week towing a stolen flatbed trailer and a lawn mower. The suspect eventually met up with a relative of the equipment’s owner, but said the relative said he wasn’t connected to the crime.

Christopher Ross Westfall, 40, was arrested on Nov. 10, when a neighbor called 911 to report they witnessed a truck driving away at a high rate of speed with their neighbor’s trailer in the 4900 block of Spirit Lake Highway, according to court documents.

Westfall was allegedly hauling a green riding lawn mower on the flatbed.

After conversing with the witness, a Cowlitz County Sheriff’s deputy saw the vehicle in the 1100 block of Spirit Lake Highway and attempted a traffic stop. The suspect ignored the deputy’s attempts and boarded the Interstate 5 on-ramp, state a police report.

Later, a deputy from Lewis County successfully spiked the suspect’s tires. Westfall then exited his truck, started running and jumped into another car driven by the grandson of the owner of the lawn mower, the report states.

Still, when law enforcement vehicles surrounded the car, Westfall exited and ran on foot until he was captured by a Washington State Fish and Wildlife officer and Lewis County deputy.

The driver of the car Westfall jumped into was also detained and told police that the lawn mower was his grandfather’s but denied involvement with the burglary or theft. He was not arrested or charged with a crime, the document states.

Investigators detected the front door of the victim’s home was kicked in, and the deputy compared a noticeable footprint to Westfall’s shoes.

Westfall is charged with second-degree burglary, second-degree theft and attempting to elude a police vehicle. Westfall is scheduled to appear in a Cowlitz County Superior Court on Nov. 28 for his arraignment.

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