24SO07453 | Fond du Lac Sheriff Pursuit

Blessed once again.
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Bond has been set at $100,000 for the driver of the vehicle involved in this pursuit, and $1,000 for the passenger.
On July 22, 2024, deputies were made aware of a pursuit that had just occurred with a stolen vehicle in Winnebago County. The Wisconsin State Patrol pursuit had been terminated due to the suspect’s dangerous driving, with the intent that the driver end his reckless driving and begin driving safely again once the pursuit was terminated.
Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office deputies set up on roadways leading into our county to attempt to locate the vehicle. This video (audio starts at the 60 second mark) begins on Lakeshore Drive where a sheriff’s deputy spotted a vehicle matching the description of the vehicle that had been pursued in Winnebago County. Although the license plates did not match, the deputy’s instincts led him to attempt a traffic stop on the similar vehicle and a second pursuit ensued. Somewhere between the pursuit in Winnebago County and this second chase that ensued, the occupants had stopped and switched out license plates with stolen plates they had in an attempt to avoid being identified. The second chase was also terminated due to the high degree of danger, however a deputy set up east of the city limits spotted the suspect vehicle still traveling at a high rate of speed and a third chase ensued. In addition to the reckless driving, the operator was also driving with signs of impairment and the decision was made that the threat they posed to the motoring public was so significant that deputies had to get the vehicle stopped. The pursuit ends when a safe location to conduct a PIT maneuver was identified by the pursuing deputy and the PIT maneuver was successfully executed. Both occupants were taken into custody without further incident. Suspected heroin was located and among other charges, the driver was arrested for OWI. We also thank the Fond du Lac Police Department for their assistance in this chase.
High speed pursuits are dangerous and oftentimes pose significant risk to the public, as this one did. We are thankful deputies were able to get them stopped before these suspects hurt or killed someone else, and both suspects remain in custody in the Fond du Lac County Jail as of the time of this post.