Racine and Mount Pleasant police say a 29-year-old man faces felony charges after leading officers Sunday on a high-speed chase down Northwestern Avenue.
Marcus D. Brown was charged Tuesday in Racine County Circuit Court with two felony counts of first degree of recklessly endangering safety, repeater, and one felony count of attempting to flee a traffic officer. If convicted, he faces up to 28-1/2 years in jail and/or up to $60,000 in fines.
According to the criminal complaint, an off-duty Mount Pleasant police officer still in uniform at 10:20 p.m. Sunday was behind a car at the intersection of Northwestern Avenue and Highway MM in the westbound lanes. The officer noted the driver in front of them sat through 10 cycles of the traffic signal, and when they tried to make contact with the driver – later identified as Brown – he was unresponsive even as the car was running and in gear.
Police say Brown finally responded but refused orders to put the car in “park” and to step out of the vehicle. After refusing three times to follow the officer’s instructions, Brown suddenly pulled away at a high rate of speed and violated the active red light at the intersection.
An on-duty officer from Mount Pleasant and Racine each responded and attempted to stop Brown, but the defendant refused, the complaint reads. At one point, Brown turned around suddenly turned around and nearly struck one of the pursuing police cars before heading east on Rapids Drive in the westbound lanes. He nearly hit head-on two additional cars before crossing the median and continuing east, reaching top speeds of 70 mph.
Officers say they pursued Brown south on Mt. Pleasant Street, and he ran stop signs at every intersection. Brown continued to flee police until he finally came to a stop in the 900 block of West Blvd. and was taken into custody.
Brown remains in the Racine County Jail on a $1,000 cash bond and is ordered not to drive at all. He will next be in court Jan. 29 for his preliminary hearing.
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