FOR THE TOMAHAWK LEADER
WISCONSIN – A gas theft in Tripoli resulted in two high speed chases that ended near Mosinee after the suspect was pursued by law enforcement in three counties.
According to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, at 8:42 a.m. on Saturday, April 18, Tri-Mart BP gas station in Tripoli reported that a person had pumped gas and left without paying.
A Wisconsin state trooper located the vehicle on U.S. Highway 8 in Oneida County shortly after an attempt to locate was broadcasted by the communications center. The driver of the vehicle fled when the trooper attempted to pull the vehicle over, resulting in a pursuit that the trooper terminated near the City of Rhinelander for safety reasons.
The Rhinelander Police Department later located and attempted to stop the vehicle, but it fled from them as well.
At around 10:15 a.m., the Langlade County Sheriff’s Office reported that a vehicle matching the description of the one that had fled from law enforcement had been spotted in Antigo and was last seen traveling west on State Road 64.
A deputy from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office located and attempted to stop the vehicle in the Town of Pine River, leading to another high speed pursuit. The driver avoided a tire deflation device deployed by the Merrill Police Department.
Deputies pursued the vehicle southbound on U.S. Highway 51 into Marathon County, where deputies from that county took over the pursuit.
The chase ended near the State Road 153 exit near Mosinee.
The driver of the vehicle, an Appleton man, 38, was wanted by the Winnebago County Sheriff for contempt of court on a drug charge, the Waupaca County Sheriff for a misdemeanor theft charge, and the Wisconsin Department of Corrections for violating the terms of his probation. He was placed on probation due to a felony conviction of possession of methamphetamine and faces charges in Lincoln County of fleeing an officer.