PORT ANGELES — Sex offender Kenneth Scott “Tiny” Johnson is in custody in the Clallam County jail this morning following a chase that ended in Jefferson County.
Johnson, 35, was a passenger in a vehicle that was pulled over by authorities in the Sequim area early this morning, Clallam County sheriff’s Sgt. Eric Munger said.
The driver, instructed by officers to do so for questioning, got out of the vehicle and dropped his keys on the ground, at which point Johnson picked up the keys and took off in the car.
“The chase was on,” Munger said.
Sequim police and sheriff’s deputies were involved in the chase in and around the Sequim area, he said.
At first, they were unsuccessful using spike strips to stop Johnson.
Munger said Johnson threw items out of the car during the pursuit, but he did not know what they were Saturday morning.
“At some point, when they were trying to spike him, he got out of his car and jacked another car,” Munger said.
The pursuit continued before he was successfully spike-stripped in Jefferson County, Munger said.
Further information was unavailable on the driver of the car in which Johnson was first stopped, Munger said.
Johnson was placed in custody at 5:51 a.m. without bond on two counts of failing to register as a sex offender and five bench warrants, including three for failure to appear for a hearing.
He is considered a high-risk sex offender with past convictions of first-degree child molestation and third-degree rape of a child.
Clallam County sheriff’s deputies lost track of the level three sex offender Thursday during a pursuit in the woods off Youngquist Road south of Sequim.
The Sheriff’s Office issued a neighborhood watch alert at 10:50 a.m. Thursday after a deputy spotted Johnson walking in the 800 block of Youngquist Road. near Palo Alto Road.
Johnson ran into the woods west of Youngquist Road and eluded deputies, Port Angeles police, Sequim police and the U.S. Border Patrol.
The manhunt was called off at about 12:45 p.m.
A K-9 unit was unable to track Johnson through damp underbrush, county Undersheriff Ron Peregrin said.
Authorities have gotten help in their search for Johnson from “Washington’s Most Wanted”
The TV show, hosted by David Rose on KCPQ channel 13 of Seattle, recently focused on Johnson and offered a cash reward of up to $1,000, depending on whether he has a weapon or drugs on him and charges when found.
“Washington’s Most Wanted,” which Rose said has led to the capture of more than 570 fugitives since 2008, gets requests for help from local police and sheriff’s departments.
In addition to being broadcast on KCPQ channel 13 on Friday and Saturday nights at 10:30 p.m., “Washington’s Most Wanted” has a high-traffic website filled with photos of wanted fugitives, www.catchwmw.com.
The show has also spotlighted the hunt for another Clallam County man, Ari King.
King is a person of interest in the death of 65-year-old Diane Cunningham, who was found dead in the Salt Creek RV Park in Joyce on Oct. 6.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
