Driver in custody after trying to illegally enter Naval Base Kitsap, officials say



NAVAL BASE KITSAP-BANGOR -- Authorities say a man is in custody after attempting to illegally enter Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor Friday afternoon.

Bremerton police say it happened at about 1:11 p.m. when a man driving a truck crashed into a pole near the base's Trident gate.

A shelter in place order was issued and gates at the base were closed while officials were responding to the incident.  A base spokesperson said in a release that the Trident gate remains closed  but the shelter in place has been lifted.

Video of the incident shared on Facebook by Heather Nix shows a man sitting outside the crashed vehicle with a child. The video shows officers approaching the man before retreating back to patrol vehicles.

The man was arrested by officers about an hour after the crash, police said.

Around 11:42 a.m., Bremerton police responded to a report of a woman who just had her car stolen at knife point, Corporal Rodney Rauback with Bremerton police said in a news release.

The woman was at a gas station located at Sheridan Road and Wheaton Way in Bremerton.  The man asked her for a ride before displaying a knife and pulled her out of the car.  The man was accompanied by a small child whom he fled with in the stolen vehicle.

While Bremerton police were trying to locate the man, Naval Submarine Base Bangor police had a male crash into the gate onto the base and later was identified as the suspect from the carjacking.  Base security took the suspect into custody and attended to the child until both the mother and grandmother of the child were reunited.  The child was later evaluated at a local hospital and their condition is unclear.

Bremerton police took the suspect, Joshua Johannessen into custody.  He told officers he had be taking methamphetamine and acting erratically from believing people were out to get him.  He believed bombs had been placed in the crashed vehicle and under his Bremerton house.

Both the house and the vehicle were cleared by law enforcement.  The base has resumed normal operations.

The investigation is still ongoing at this time.