A 28-year-old Kent man has been offered a plea deal by prosecutors in a May 2019 crash on Highway 104 that left three people injured.

Anthony M. Goebel is currently being held in Jefferson County Jail on $100,000 bail. He entered a pleading of not guilty on charges of vehicular assault and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm in late May.

During a court appearance Friday in Jefferson County Superior Court, attorney Scott Charlton, representing Goebel, asked that Goebel’s trial date be stricken in anticipation of a change in Goebel’s plea next week.

Prosecutors allege that Goebel was behind the wheel of a 2006 Toyota Camry that was headed east on Highway 104 just after 2:30 p.m.
May 13, 2019, when Goebel went into the oncoming lane of traffic near Center Loop Road.

Another driver in a 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck swerved to avoid a collision, but Goebel allegedly turned back into the eastbound lane and hit the Dodge pickup.

The force of the collision caused the truck to flip onto its roof. It hit the guardrail on the east side of the highway and then came to a rest in the eastbound lane, still on its roof.

The driver of the Dodge, a 77-year-old Sequim resident, was able to crawl out of his smashed truck. He was taken to St. Michael Medical Center in Silverdale and later transferred to St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma. 

According to an investigation report filed by the Washington State Patrol, the truck driver broke six ribs in the collision, and also had a collapsed right lung and a fractured spinal bone.

Firefighters had to remove the roof of the Toyota to get Goebel and a passenger out of the Toyota.

Goebel suffered a serious leg injury and was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

A passenger in his car, a 27-year-old Port Angeles woman, was also taken by helicopter to Harborview for treatment of broken bones in her face and internal injuries.

A witness to the crash said he saw the Toyota drift out of its lane a couple of times before the collision.

Troopers began to search the Toyota for the driver’s actual identification and saw surgical tubing and a handgun in a backpack. Officers then waited for a warrant before continuing the search. A small plastic bag that appeared to contain the residue of methamphetamine was found in a sunglass case. 

An identification card found in Goebel’s wallet at the time of the wreck belonged to another man. 

Authorities determined the ID wasn’t Goebel’s when staff at Harborview called the family of the man who was pictured on the ID eight hours after the crash, and were told the man on the ID found in Goebel’s wallet was actually at home in Randle asleep in his bed. (Authorities also learned Goebel had used the ID card when he was caught shoplifting at the Sequim Walmart the day before the crash and was trespassed from the store.)

Goebel was listed as Xavier Doe at Harborview until he was finally identified two days after the wreck by a King County detective.

In an interview with the passenger four days after the crash, the woman told a detective she had met Goebel at the Walgreens in Sequim the day before the crash and he had offered her $50 and a full tank of gas for a ride to Kent. She said she didn’t know where Kent was, so she let Goebel drive her car.

During a search of the Toyota, authorities found a Smith and Wesson M&P 9mm handgun, with a loaded magazine with 17 bullets. Another loaded magazine was also found, and troopers found 52 bullets in all.

The vehicle search also recovered the plastic bag that tested positive for containing methamphetamine. A wallet was found in a pair of pants that had a Washington ID card for Goebel, as well as a Washington Department of Corrections ID card for Goebel, and a Muckleshoot Casino card with his name on it.

A toxicology report by the Washington State Patrol Toxicology Laboratory showed Goebel had amphetamine and methamphetamine in his blood, according to court documents.

A background check found Goebel had previous felony convictions for second-degree assault, possession of a firearm, and second-degree escape.

Goebel was initially charged with two felony counts of vehicular assault, as well as first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, and possession of methamphetamine in June 2020.

The possession charge was later dropped.