PORT ANGELES — Two men arrested in October have a trial scheduled in January for burglary charges after they allegedly assaulted an AM/PM employee in Carlsborg.
Joshua Pulliam, 28, of Lakewood and Julian Treat, 30, of Seattle have been charged with first-degree burglary. They face life imprisonment and/or a $50,000 fine. A two-day trial is set for Jan. 6 in Clallam County Superior Court with judge Brent Basden.
They’ve both pleaded not guilty and have been held in the Clallam County jail in lieu of $25,000 bail since their arrests.
No contact orders were granted in early November for Pulliam and Treat with the AM/PM employee.
According to Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, a man and woman came into the store about 4:30 p.m. Oct. 25, made threats to the employee and the employee kicked the man out of the store and threatened to call police if he didn’t leave.
Deputies said the man threatened to return with others to assault the employee, and he did about an hour and began calling the employee names.
Soon thereafter, men identified via video surveillance as Pulliam and Treat began hitting the employee, and deputies said one of the attackers demanded the employee give them their wallet. The employee’s wallet was not taken because it was attached via a chain.
The men fled in a red sedan when the store manager came, deputies said.
The men drove eastbound on U.S. Highway 101 and were pursued by Sequim police officers before it was deemed unsafe as they reached speeds exceeding 100 mph and drove into oncoming traffic near Palo Alto Road, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The sedan was later found by a Washington State Patrol trooper at Sequim Bay State Park.
A team of law enforcement officers deployed a drone with night vision and heat signature detection to find the men about 7:30 p.m. that night about a quarter mile away from the park, deputies said.
When Treat was arrested, he allegedly had 24 suspected fentanyl pills and a small amount of suspected methamphetamine, the sheriff’s office said.
Both men declined to give statements to law enforcement officers. The AM/PM employee sustained minor injuries and declined further medical attention.
Deputies said a third suspect has not been located or identified. They did not participate in the alleged assault, according to court documents.
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him by email at matthew.nash@sequimgazette.com.
