Four schools in the Lacey area were placed on a lockout Thursday, Jan. 19 while deputies pursued a man who failed to register as a sex offender with the state.
Thursday morning, the Thurston County Sheriff's Narcotics Task Force and members of the Department of Corrections tried to contact the man at the College Glen apartments in Lacey because he had an escape warrant for failure to register as a sex offender. His original charge was first-degree child molestation, according to the Thurston County Sheriff's Office's social media.
However, the man fled in a white Ford Escape, and deputies were unable to pursue him due to state law limitations, according to the Sheriff's Office. But the man then hit two Task Force vehicles, an offense worthy of pursuing under state law.
A K9 unit was called to the scene, and a member of the Task Force began a foot pursuit of the man that ended with a brief fight and the man in custody.
NTPS spokesperson Amy Blondin said the four schools that were placed on lockout were Timberline High School, Aspire Performing Arts Academy, Lakes Elementary and Chambers Prairie Elementary. She said a lockout entails bringing all students and teachers inside and locking exterior doors. The school day continued on as normal.
Blondin said the lockout lasted for a little over an hour.
The man was booked for his DOC sex offender escape warrant, as well as on suspicion of "numerous" felony charges, according to the Sheriff's Office. He also had a warrant out of Pierce County for failing to register as a sex offender, and he had failed to register four times in 2022.
