May 2, 2023 – Fond du Lac Co., WI – On May 1, 2023 a K-9 handler with the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle for an equipment violation on I41 near Johnson St in the Township of Fond du Lac, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin.
As the traffic stop continued the deputy gained reason to believe the driver was engaged in criminal activity and asked the driver to exit the vehicle so the deputy could further his investigation.
The driver refused the deputy’s commands and drove away from the traffic stop at a high rate of speed. The deputy pursued the suspect vehicle northbound on I41.
Due to the speeds of the suspect vehicle and that the driver was already identified during the initial traffic stop, the pursuing deputy terminated the pursuit. The pursuit lasted approximately 6 miles. Moments after the pursuit was terminated, the Fond du Lac County Communication Center received reports that the same suspect vehicle had crashed and had become disabled on CTH N near I 41.
The driver of the vehicle was observed to be running away from the vehicle by witnesses. Responding deputies were able to immediately locate the male and take the male into custody without incident.
At this time K-9 Rip with the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office was deployed on the crashed vehicle and positively alerted to the odor of drugs coming from the vehicle.
Inside the vehicle deputies located packaging material, suspected MDMA, and cash. Deputies searched the area where the suspect was observed running and located a bag of approximately 1,000 fake oxycodone pills. The pills are believed to be pressed fentanyl pills as the pills field tested positive for fentanyl.
The male was evaluated by the North Fond du Lac Ambulance for possible injuries from the crash and was then released to deputies at the scene of the incident. The suspect was an adult male from NE Wisconsin. He is a convicted felon who has two prior convictions for possession of heroin with intent to deliver on his criminal history.
The male is being charged with the following as a result of the pursuit.
-Possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute (<50grams)
-Possession of MDMA with intent to distribute (>3 grams)
-First degree recklessly endangering safety
-Fleeing and Eluding
-Resisting/obstructing an officer
-Possession of drug paraphernalia.
Assisting at the scene was Wisconsin State Patrol, Eldorado First Responders, and North Fond du Lac Ambulance.