Jeremy Mirkes


Zackary McElroy

A vehicle pursuit that had speeds in excess of 110 miles per hour began in Washington and ended in West Chester Sunday afternoon.

According to local officials, at 3:19 p.m. dispatch received a call of harassment in the 1400 block of East Second Street with multiple vehicles and people involved. When officials arrived on scene most of those involved had left, but reports of harassment were given stating a man in a Kia Soul made threats and was armed with a handgun.

Washington Police located the vehicle and requested county assistance to stop the vehicle. The vehicle did not stop and led officials on a pursuit through streets and alleys of Washington for approximately 20 minutes and speeds above 60 miles per hour. At one point a passenger in the vehicle threw a loaded handgun from the window. The gun was recovered by authorities. The chase then went on West 5th, north on Highway 1 and west on Highway 92. Stop sticks were deployed by a county officer, causing both passenger side tires of the Kia to deflate. The driver of the suspect vehicle lost control and forced another vehicle off the road and into a ditch. The chase went on two to three more miles and ended in a dead end road in West Chester. Authorities then blocked the Kia in, where a collision occurred.

Four subjects were detained. Twenty-year-old Jeremy Ryan Mirkes of Marion was the driver and was arrested for felony eluding, reckless driving, driving while revoked, carrying a weapon, careless driving, and failure to maintain control. A passenger, 22-year-old Zackary Todd McElroy of Cedar Rapids was also arrested for aiding and abetting, carrying a weapon, possession of a controlled substance marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was also wanted on two Linn County warrants. Two juvenile female subjects were released with no charges. There were no injuries. Local authorities are still interviewing others associated with the incident.

The Kia Soule was just 29 days old and now has no windows, no passenger side tires, and damage to the under carriage.