CALEDONIA, WI – A Cudahy man was charged Thursday with a felony count of fleeing and eluding police following a high-speed chase Wednesday night that ended in Oak Creek.
The Racine County District Attorney’s Office charged Brandon Soles, 28, with attempting to flee or elude an officer. If convicted of the charge, he faces up to three years, six months in prison and/or fines up to $10,000.
He was also cited for multiple municipal traffic citations.
According to the criminal complaint, officers with the Caledonia Police Department responded to a report of family trouble at about 10 p.m. Wednesday at 10023 Saratoga Drive. The responding officer was at the scene but hadn’t completed his investigation.
Another officer had just reached the intersection of Saratoga and Caddy Lane when he saw Soles leave the home in his car. Stopped at the intersection, the officer noticed him and told him to return to the home.
Soles began to head towards the residence, but he failed to stop at the house and kept going. Seeing this, the other officer at the intersection turned around and started following him.
Failing to stop at the intersection between Duane Court and Saratoga Drive, the officer put his lights and siren on. Soles traveled at speeds over 60 mph. Turning right onto Vista Drive, he then continued toward Nicholson Road and turned left at a high rate of speed.
“The vehicle continued to increase speed to 99 mph while in Oak Creek’s jurisdiction,” the complaint reads.
Because Soles traveled into Oak Creek, the pursuit ended and the officer pulled over to the side of the road. Soles had traveled on. As he did, the officer saw Soles’ brake lights jump “as if the vehicle went airborne,” and then he saw only one brake light “as if the vehicle (had) slid sideways.”
On Elm Road in Oak Creek, Caledonia Police went to the scene to render first aid after he crashed the car into a guidewire for a telephone pole.
“I observed an open driver’s door and footprints in the snow to the east between the houses,” the complaint reads.
Officers located Soles walking south of 10650 South McGraw Drive. K-9 Louie was placed on a leash and the officer went into the backyard. Finding footprints near a tall wooden fence, the officers felt it would be best to set up a perimeter and wait for officers from the Oak Creek Police Department.
Soles vehicle laid down 584 feet of skid marks on the road and in the ditch, according to the Oak Creek Police.
Following the crash, Soles was last seen running east on the 10600 Block of S. McGraw Drive. The Oak Creek police K9 unit was dispatched to track Soles, according to police call logs.
K-9 Nox picked up a track, which went through the back yard of an area home and over a 6-foot-high privacy fence. As officers converged on the back yard, police saw Soles run south across E. Elm Road. Officers demanded that Soles stop running, or he would be chased down and bitten by K9 Nox. After a short chase, he surrendered and was arrested.
In court, Racine County Court Commissioner Alice Rudebusch set a signature bond of $2,000. Soles returns to court for a preliminary hearing set for 9 a.m. Jan. 16 at the Racine County Courthouse.