An arrest warrant has been issued for a 30-year-old La Crosse man accused of eluding police during a May 2 car and foot chase.
Virgil Ronnell Stewart Jr. faces two felony counts of second-degree recklessly endangering safety, one felony count of fleeing an officer, one misdemeanor count of reckless driving/causing bodily harm and one misdemeanor count of obstructing an officer.
According to a criminal complaint filed in La Crosse County Circuit Court, Stewart was recognized by police May 2 as he was driving eastbound on Market Street in La Crosse. Police confirmed that Stewart had several outstanding felony warrants and attempted to make a traffic stop.
The complaint says Stewart made no attempt to pull over and accelerated to 80 mph in a 25 mph zone. Police quickly terminated the pursuit for safety reasons.
A short time later, police were notified that Stewart’s vehicle had crashed into a tree near the corner of 17th and Winnebago streets. The three occupants reportedly fled the vehicle.
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The complaint said Stewart ran from police and ignored orders to stop. An officer discharged a Taser at Stewart as he was climbing a residential fence. The Taser was ineffective, and the officer lost sight of him.
Police apprehended one of the occupants, who authorities said is pregnant with Stewart’s child. She was interviewed by police at a nearby hospital.
What started as a simple traffic stop turned into utter chaos on a road in Iowa. This video was captured from the bodycam of officer Patrick McCarty with the Carroll Police Department. After stopping a motorist he ran their information, finding one of them is wanted. Veuer’s Tony Spitz has the details.
