PORT ANGELES — A search of the vehicle driven by James Sweet, a convicted felon suspected of instigating a May 28 shootout with law enforcement, turned up two handguns, more than 100 bullets, 12 pieces of jewelry and a bag of heroin, according to the search warrant the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office executed the day of the gunfight.
The State Patrol continues investigating the Memorial Day Weekend shootout at the Monroe Road-U.S. Highway 101 intersection while Sweet, 36, remains in state Department of Corrections custody while recuperating from at least four gunshot wounds, authorities said Monday.
Sweet, arrested for investigation of attempted murder of a police officer, is in stable condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Department of Corrections spokesman Jeremy Barclay said.
None of the four officers involved in the 10 a.m. May 28 shootout required hospitalization.
At 4:25 p.m. the same day, Clallam County Superior Court Judge Christopher Melly issued a telephonic search warrant to Sheriff’s Office Detective Amy Bundy to inspect Sweet’s 1990 Toyota Camry.
The warrant revealed evidence of a gunfight at close quarters and a suspected shooter’s vehicle stained by blood.
Bloodstains were on the driver’s side fender and windshield of Sweet’s vehicle, and two bullets and three bullet fragments were pulled from the car.
Bloodstains also were on the hood of a police officer’s vehicle that authorities said had pinned Sweet inside his vehicle — and which also contained bullet fragments and spent jackets.
According to the 29-page search warrant and property evidence report, authorities found inside Sweet’s vehicle a .22-caliber revolver, a .22-caliber handgun and more than 100 bullets, including five in a magazine.
They also found a camcorder, a Kindle e-reader, an iPod, four cellphones, a dozen pieces of jewelry including a gold watch and emerald necklace, and a brass set of presidential coins.
They also found two packages of heroin weighing 3 ounces, and two digital scales, according to the report.
Authorities said Port Angeles Police Officer Whitney Fairbanks was trying to stop Sweet, a resident of Bluff Drive in Port Angeles, for failure to yield to a stop sign at 9:47 a.m. on May 28.
Sweet had blown the stop sign while entering Highway 101 eastbound from a side street near Golf Course Road when he sped up to elude Fairbanks, they said.
He reached speeds of about 60 mph before crashing into a vehicle about a mile east at the Monroe Road intersection, exiting his car through the window while firing at Fairbanks, who had blocked his door with her vehicle, authorities said.
Interim Police Chief Brian Smith said Sweet was hit by gunfire from Fairbanks while Sweet was in his car and as he was firing at her, and got blood on her car as he exited his vehicle.
The search warrant said blood was on the hood of her Dodge Charger.
Six bullet fragments and two bullet jackets also were found in Fairbanks’ vehicle.
Sweet fled to a nearby grassy corner at Highway 101 and East Pioneer, where he kept firing from 30-40 feet away before being stopped.
At the scene with Fairbanks were Port Angeles Officer Dallas Maynard and Cpl. Kori Malone, and Clallam County Sheriff’s Sgt. Shaun Minks.
Fairbanks and the other officers remain on paid administrative leave, Port Angeles Police Sgt. Jason Viada said Monday.
Fairbanks, 22, is the daughter of U.S. Forest Service Officer Kristine Fairbanks, who was shot to death while on duty Sept. 20, 2008, at the Dungeness Forks Campground south of Sequim.
Fairbanks’ father, Sgt. Brian Fairbanks of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, recalled Monday learning that his daughter was involved in a shootout.
“It’s not the phone call you want to hear,” he said.
“She seems to be doing very, very, very well. She’s a tough kid. I couldn’t be more proud of her.”
Past sentence
Sweet was sentenced to 22 months and a year of community custody after pleading guilty Dec. 26, 2014, in Clallam County Superior Court to charges of drug possession and eluding a police vehicle.
He was released March 28 from the Monroe Correctional Complex, according to DOC records.
The DOC is holding Sweet for 30 days at Harborview under a DOC warrant for violating the conditions of his release and firearms possession, Barclay said.
State Patrol spokesman Russ Winger said Monday that investigators are working to have enough information for Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols to file a charge by June 26, the end of the holding period.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
