Suspect injures deputy, escapes in the nude

Man charged with assault, resisting arrest, intent to deliver meth

A Coupeville man wanted on warrants escaped in the nude from a Nov. 5 traffic stop following a struggle that de-clothed him and injured a deputy, according to court documents.

Prosecutors charged Codie Burley, 20, in Island County Superior Court Nov. 10 with third-degree assault, resisting arrest, possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine and possession of a stolen firearm.

Judge Alan Hancock ordered him held in jail in lieu of $150,000 bail Nov. 8.

Deputy Robert Mirabal with the Island County Sheriff’s Office was patrolling Central Whidbey just before 1 a.m. when he noticed a car with expired tabs, according to the police report. Mirabal pulled the car over on Patmore Road.

Mirabal recognized the passenger as Burley, who was wanted on $30,000 in outstanding arrest warrants on charges that included fourth-degree domestic violence assault and two counts of criminal trespass. The sheriff’s office had issued a press release asking for the public’s help in finding him.

Mirabal pulled Burley from the car, but the young man resisted as the officer tried to put him in handcuffs, according to the report.

Burley was able to run away after a struggle, but Mirabal chased him about 15 feet and took him to the ground, where Burley continued to fight.

Burley got away and Mirabal tackled him to the ground again. Burley continued to fight with him and was able to pull himself from the deputy’s grasp, leaving his sweat pants behind. He stood up and tried to punch the deputy, but missed as Mirabal ducked.

Mirabal had hold of Burley by the shirt, but Burley pulled out of it and ran away naked, the report states.

Mirabal said he realized that one of his arms was injured as he ran after Burley, who got away by going over a fence that the injured deputy wasn’t able to traverse.

Another deputy arrived to help and found the driver, 19-year-old Kiersten Hicks, of Coupeville, standing next to the car. He went to help Mirabal and returned to find Hicks gone but the car still there.

Mirabal went to the hospital and was diagnosed with a torn pectoral muscle. He was also treated for abrasions to his knees and elbows and a cut on his arm.

An investigator obtained a search warrant for the car and found several items, including a gun and a medieval sword, that had been taken during a burglary at a Patmore Road home. In addition, the deputies located “a large crystalline rock” of suspected meth in a plastic bag, the investigator wrote.

That night, deputies served a search warrant on Burley’s residence on Patmore Road.

“Burley initially refused to come out, so deputies made entry into the residence and located Burley hiding in a bedroom,” the sheriff’s office reported. “He was taken into custody without incident.”

Deputies also arrested Hicks, who was in the house. She was charged Nov. 10 with possession of meth and possession of a stolen firearm.

Hicks is being held in jail on $30,000.