It took awhile and the help of virtually every law enforcement agency in Kitsap County. But in the end, the thing that led authorities to Duane Michael “Mike” Sloan, 33, was a traffic stop.
Sloan was on the run for his role in a possible kidnapping scheme, according to the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office. He was last seen Friday after allegedly leading police on a chase through a neighborhood north of Poulsbo. But he was caught on the 300 block of Hewitt during a traffic stop at approximately 12:46 a.m., wearing a black wig and ball cap.
The driver he was riding with apparently ran a stop sign so police stopped the car.
Law enforcement officers nationwide will tell you traffic stops more than anything else lead to fugitive apprehensions.
There are many famous examples of infamous criminals caught by
traffic stops. One example is Timothy McVeigh,
the man executed for his role in the Oklahoma City Bombings.
Anyone know any other stories about fugitives caught on stops?
Traffic enforcement is definitely a good way of locating fugitives. In your 911 section today there is a fantastic example of that. Car pulled over for traffic violation, passenger subsequently identified (for not wearing a seatbelt I assume, since he was laying down on the van’s floor), passenger had warrant, search of passenger incident to said arrest, heroin and needles found. Search of vehicle incident to arrest, more drugs found falling off of driver. This is the type of results North Kitsap Deputies are hoping for while also being pro-active in their traffic enforcement. Could the Deputy have just issued a citation or warning to the driver for what-ever the traffic infraction was and let them go? If he was lazy. He or she was smart enough and had enough pride to put forth extra effort and do his/her job to the best of his/her ability and training. Traffic enforcement combined with following rules set forth in the Constitution led to not one, but two felony arrests. This type of thing goes on 24/7,365 in Kitsap County and it’s only part of what keeps citizens safe.
Mr. Sloan was caught in Bremerton by a heads up Officer. This took extra effort to look beyond the face value of the stop. It was a great bit of police work. Sloan has made NK his home and hunting grounds. Detectives, Deputies, and local agencies worked extremely hard in a cooperative effort the past couple weeks tracking him down. Old fashioned police work. The shoe leather was well worn. Ultimately, it was too hot for him in the north end and he was driven to the unfamiliar grounds of Bremerton where he was nabbed.
There is a great group of Deputies in Kitsap County who spend time between 911 calls looking for fugitives. Part of their duties include traffic enforcement and there is a full time division just for that. However, the most pro-active Deputies go after them the old fashioned way…knock on their door. Not there? Follow leads until they are found. Just like traffic stops can lead to warrant arrests, warrant arrests (yes, even if you have a misdemeanor warrant you can expect a visit) can lead to bigger arrests. Last year a 483 plant marijuana grow operation (that’s nearly a a half million dollars worth) was uncovered in North Kitsap, by two patrol Deputies looking for a subject with a warrant for forgery. Sometimes people have multiple warrants out of multiple jurisdictions. Sometimes there are multiple people with warrants at the same location: birds of a feather. The bottom line is, Deputies in Kitsap County don’t sit around and wait for the 911 call. Highly self- motivated Patrol Deputies are out there looking for bad guys and flushing out the runners every day, all day. Sometimes people, who are safe and warm in their bed, forget they are out there working to keep them that way. Stopping cars for legitimate violations and 3am is only one of many ways to do it.
Makes you wonder what could be done with more than the standard two Deputies (three on a really good day) per shift in the north end.