Tag: car chase

By Caleb Hutton

FERNDALE — For the second time in less than a year, an Everson-area man has been arrested after leaving his wallet behind at the scene of the crime.

Joseph Hugh Cline, 30, was charged last week with leading police on a 10-mile chase that started with him going 10 mph over the speed limit Jan. 19 in Ferndale.

Police allege they clocked Cline’s car going 35 mph on Main Street. Cline pulled into the parking lot of a nearby McDonald’s, then squealed away just as the officer was exiting his patrol car, according to charging documents.

Officers chased the suspect along back roads: He zipped through stop signs and recklessly passed other cars, according to the charges. At the intersection of Starry and East Smith roads, someone jumped out of the moving car and ran away.

Here’s a map of the chase:

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Police found Cline’s wallet wedged beside the driver’s seat, according to the charges. His Nooksack tribal identity card was inside. A woman in the car told police she didn’t know Cline, but she had accepted a ride from him at the Ferndale Haggen. She picked him out of a photo lineup.

Cline was booked into Whatcom County Jail the following afternoon, Jan. 20. He’s charged with attempting to elude police and driving with a license suspended in the first degree.

In February 2012, Cline was a passenger in a car involved in a suspected hit and run in Whatcom County, according to court records. The driver eventually pulled over, but Cline ran out of the car, leaving behind his wallet — along with the same Nooksack ID card — and a small black nylon case containing methamphetamine. More of Cline’s personal property was in the case. He was convicted of conspiracy to possess meth.

Cline has six felonies on his record: harassment, felony assault, violating a no-contact order, taking a motor vehicle without permission, possession of illegal drugs and, for the latest drug crime, conspiracy to possess meth.