On Thursday afternoon, Dec. 31, 2020, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed three felony charges against Julius T. Booth, 34, of Burien, related to a police chase and crash in Burien Wed. afternoon:

- First-degree domestic violence kidnapping
- Felony violation of a domestic violence court order
- Attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle

Booth remains in jail on $750,000 bail.

Charging documents say that on Dec. 30 just before 4 p.m. Booth, 34, of Burien, was spotted by an undercover deputy, arguing with a woman outside his Suzuki SUV, which was parked on the west side of Military Road South near S. 200th Street.

Here’s dashcam video shot by a witness around 3 p.m. on S. 272nd Street and Military Road, showing the erratic driving with slow-mo replays:

Here’s more from the charging documents:

The woman was visibly upset, hitting the passenger side windows and yelling “give me my baby, give me my baby.” Booth allegedly yelled at her to get inside the vehicle and pushed her inside before taking off. The officer who witnessed the incident believed that children were inside the car, and that he was witnessing a kidnapping. Backup was called and soon a police chase ensued, southbound on I-5.

Booth immediately took evasive action by accelerating and passing cars in the roadway as traffic increased approaching the SR 18 interchange. He continued his reckless actions by conducting a u-turn on 1-5 at the emergency turnout between 1-5 north and 1-5 south. He also drove on the left with speeds in excess of 80 MPH. As the chase approached S. 320th Street in heavy traffic, Booth cut across all lanes of 1-5, exiting at S. 320th Street, heading eastbound.

Police temporarily lost sight of the SUV while they attempted to safely exit S. 320th and enter the roadway without causing any accidents. Booth continued driving southbound on Military Road S. from S. 320th Street, weaving in and out of traffic at speeds upwards of 70+MPH, putting driver and pedestrians at serious risks.

Booth continued driving recklessly at an excessively high rate of speed on Military Road S. until he reached SR 161 and started traveling northbound, weaving in and out of traffic at high rates of speed, endangering other drivers and pedestrians. He continued on SR 161 to 76th Ave S., passing S. 348th Street, where he turned northbound onto Pacific Highway S.

At the intersection of S. 336th Street, one Police officer attempted to deploy spike strips to disable his vehicle and safely end the pursuit. Booth drove towards the police vehicle, exited the roadway into a parking lot to avoid the spike strips, and continued driving on the sidewalk to avoid the spike strip. He continued his evasive maneuvers turning eastbound onto S. 325th Street, northbound on 17th Ave S., eastbound again onto S. 324th Street at speeds in excess of 60 MPH in heavy traffic.

Booth continued to S. 320th Street, driving on the sidewalk in an area with a pedestrian foot track and heavy traffic because of the entrances and exits for 1-5 north and south. He continued his reckless driving at a high rate of speed as he entered 1-5 northbound from S. 320th Street. Deputies and Officers attempted to give him space to slow and stop the pursuit, but he continued traveling at speeds more than 80 to 90 MPH. As the pursuit continued northbound on 1-5, Deputies gave a space ranging from 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile as King County Sheriff’s helicopter Guardian One called the pursuit from overhead.

Booth continued weaving his way in and out of traffic at a high rate of speed until he exited 1-5 at S. 188th Street in SeaTac; he then headed westbound on S. 188th Street then northbound on Military Road S. where he lost control of the vehicle swerving all over the road almost hitting multiple cars in traffic. Booth continued northbound on Military Road S., swerving in and out of traffic, endangering other drivers and pedestrians on the sidewalks.

He headed westbound on S. 176th Street, weaving in and out of traffic, failing to stop at multiple traffic lights and stops in residential neighbors where kids play, and people walk. Julius turned northbound onto International Blvd, which has heavy traffic at this time of the day. At S. 170th Street, where there was heavy traffic since the airport entrance is to the west, Julius started driving on the sidewalk where there is always significant pedestrian traffic due to the multiple hotels, gas stations, and restaurants. He continued northbound on International Blvd to S. 154th Street, where he turned westbound. Julius entered highway 578 towards Burien and exited onto northbound SR 509.

Booth exited 509 at S. 128th Street, traveling westbound to 1st Ave S., where he continued northbound. When Booth turned onto 1st Ave S., he lost control of the SUV. In his efforts to regain control, he had to slow down, which gave deputies an opportunity to conduct a PIT maneuver. This maneuver effectively ended the pursuit, and Booth was taken into custody without incident.

“Due to the quick actions of the deputies conducting the PIT maneuver no one in the vehicle was injured and no civilians were injured,” charging documents say.

Booth was placed under arrest for a signed, served Domestic Violence Protection Order by the woman who he pushed into the vehicle.

The only thing Booth would tell police was that he knew they were behind him trying to stop him.

“Julius told us he was scared of the police, and that’s why he did not stop,” documents say.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASES ROSE 7.1% in 2020
The Prosecutor’s Office says that in 2020, the number of domestic violence cases rose 7.1 percent across King County. Through Dec. 20, the King County Prosecutor’s Office office filed 1,267 felony domestic violence cases – up from the 1,183 cases filed in 2019.

People who need emergency protection against a domestic abuser no longer have to come to the courthouse — they can go through the process 100 percent remotely. Anyone who needs a protection order can go to protectionorder.org to begin the process and get help from advocates.

Booth’s first court appearance in this case will be Jan. 12, 2021 at the King County Courthouse.