An Oak Harbor man is wanted on a $10,000 bench warrant after speeding away from a traffic stop in December 2023.

Prosecutors charged Andrew E. Talbert in Island County Superior Court March 6 with attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle. A judge issued the warrant on March 31.

An officer with the Oak Harbor Police Department stopped a car driven by Talbert on Dec. 22, 2023 after she noticed that it didn’t have a rear license plate, according to the officer’s report.

The officer spoke to Talbert, who was allegedly driving, and a passenger in the car. The officer asked Talbert for his license, insurance and registration, but he said he could not find the documents.

The officer asked Talbert to turn his car off. Instead, he said he didn’t “have time for this” and sped off on West Whidbey Avenue, the officer wrote in her report.

The officer pursued the vehicle as it went through a red light and turned on Loerland Lane. The car turned onto Swantown Road and continued at a high rate of speed, traveling in the opposing lanes, the officer wrote.

The officer terminated the pursuit for safety reasons but continued following at the posted speed without lights or siren. She came upon the car parked in a driveway and saw someone run away.

The officer spoke to the passenger, who had stayed in the car with a kitten named “Venom.” She identified the driver as Talbert and claimed he fled because he was wanted on a warrant, the report states.

The woman was taken into custody on a misdemeanor warrant. A police sergeant dropped the kitten off at the home of the passenger’s friend.