High-speed chase spanned two counties
By Jason Arndt
Editor
Two Illinois men accused of leading authorities on a high-speed chase in a stolen vehicle, which ended in the Village of Bristol, made their initial appearances in Racine County Circuit Court Sept. 27.
Dezerric F. Pitts, 18, of Kankakee, and George E, Lark IV, 19, of Champaign, were each charged with felony armed robbery stemming from the Sept. 25 incident.
Lark was also charged with possession of a firearm by an adjudicated delinquent. Pitts, the operator of vehicle, faces a count of attempting to flee or elude an officer.
Pitts and Lark, who are both held in the Racine County Jail on $250,000 bonds, will not face any charges in Kenosha County.
“I have been advised that we are not planning on pursuing charges on them,” said Kenosha County Sheriff’s Sgt. Mark Malecki.
The two appeared at a Wednesday preliminary hearing.
According to the complaint, the two entered the Wilkomm Mobil gas station on Highway 20 (Washington Avenue) in the Village of Mount Pleasant in Racine County armed with handguns.
Pitts, the complaint alleges, held one of the two cashiers at gunpoint and demanded cash while Lark attempted to steal from the other cashier.
Collectively, the two came away with $275 in cash along with a cellular phone valued at $306 and headed towards Interstate 94 in red truck reportedly stolen in Illinois.
A Mount Pleasant police officer found the truck on Interstate 94, where he attempted to stop the two.
Pitts, the alleged driver of the stolen vehicle, then engaged authorities on a high-speed chase exceeding 100 mph, according to the complaint.
As the vehicle approached the Kenosha County line, the Racine County Sheriff’s Office and Village of Mount Pleasant Police Department requested help from Kenosha County Sheriff’s deputies, who joined the pursuit.
A Kenosha County Sheriff’s deputy, according to the Mt. Pleasant Police Department, then used spike stripes to deflate the tires on the speeding car.
Driving at a lower speed, the vehicle exited on Highway C and continued west, Mt. Pleasant police state.
“The pursuit continued at slower speed until the fleeing vehicle turned into the AAA Tentmaster businesses and was attempting to turn around in the lawn and possibly head back to the Interstate,” Mount Pleasant police wrote in a news release.
Due to the low speeds on the grass and vehicle driving on a rim, authorities believed the two posed a threat. At that point, a Mount Pleasant police officer struck the vehicle with his squad care to end the pursuit.
The suspects, the complaint states, then fled northeast on foot into a nearby wooded area.
At around 1 a.m., Kenosha County authorities alerted area residents on Facebook, urging them to stay indoors and report any suspicious activity.
Sheriff’s deputies from both Racine and Kenosha County, including a K9 unit, along with Mount Pleasant police officers then conducted a large-scale search for them.
As authorities continued the search, Pitts allegedly tried to break into a home in Bristol in the 14600 block of Wilmot Road, but Pitts fled after the homeowner shot him at about 3:45 a.m.
“The resident armed himself with a handgun and fired shots at the suspect, who ran away,” the release states.
Less than four hours later, authorities found Pitts riding a bicycle on Interstate 94, where they arrested him on an Illinois warrant.
The warrant relates to an attempted homicide charge in Kankakee County in Illinois, the complaint states.
Lark, meanwhile, was arrested later after he attempted to make a phone call from a business near where the stolen truck had crashed, the complaint states.
To read the full story see the Oct. 5 edition of the Westine Report.
-
-
-
-
-