Poulsbo liquor caper leads to police chase

A 19-year-old male from Bremerton has been arrested for attempting to elude a police vehicle in Poulsbo on Dec. 18.

According to charging documents filed Dec. 19, Noah Kai Fajardo-Ivie is the registered owner of a black Honda Civic which allegedly ran from a pursuing Poulsbo police, after reports of several males stealing more than $700 worth of liquor from a local Safeway.

Documents say that after the pursuing officer turned on his emergency lights and sirens, the driver refused to stop and increased its speed. The pursuing officer’s statement of probable cause noted that as he chased the Honda, he was traveling at about 60 mph in a 30-mph zone, while the Honda continued to gain more distance from the officer.

Charging documents say that after locating the vehicle, abandoned and with all four doors left open, the officer recovered 24 sealed bottles of liquor in the vehicle. A search of the area found one of the passengers — who confirmed Fajardo-Ivie was the driver and that the group had attempted to steal the items from Safeway.

A certificate of probable cause states that when Fajardo-Ivie was arrested at his parents residence, he denied taking any part in the theft from Safeway and that the other passengers simply, “jumped into the car and told him to drive.”

Fajardo-Ivie is being held on $50,000 bail.