High speed chase ends in arrest

Published 9:01 am Thursday, April 8, 2010

A 38-year-old wanted man fled from Austin police in a vehicle Wednesday night and led them on a chase that ended with his arrest in Freeborn County.

The man, who resides in Austin, has not been formally charged. Charges could be filed as early as Thursday in Mower County court.

According to a police report, the incident began in the 1800 block of Oakland Avenue West at around 11:10 p.m. An officer on patrol spotted the 38-year-old man — who had been wanted by police since February for violating his probation on a drugs and firearm conviction — and initiated his siren.

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The man, who had an 18-year-old female passenger in the car, turned south on 12th Street and sped away at about 50 mph. Two Austin squad cars pursued the man, who next turned west on County Road 4 toward Freeborn County. At one point during the chase, the man threw a large amount of a white substance out of his car, which hit the front windshield of a squad car, the report states.

Testing still needs to be done to determine exactly what the substance was, but police believe the man tossed narcotics.

Austin police notified the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office that the suspect was headed their way, so Freeborn deputies deployed “stop sticks.” The 38-year-old man drove over some on 870th Avenue at County Road 1 in Freeborn County, popping all four of his tires. He continued on to 873rd Avenue but stopped his vehicle there, the report states.

Officers arrested the man and the female passenger at gunpoint without incident. The suspect was taken to jail, while the woman was later released.

After the arrest, officers checked the man’s vehicle. They located a flashlight case that contained a syringe and a glass pipe, the report states. The items tested positive for trace amounts of methamphetamine.