High speed chase through Des Moines ends with suspect in custody
DES MOINES, Iowa— Police say a high-speed chase through the streets of Des Moines on Friday ended with a suspect wanted on a felony warrant in custody.
'I saw a lot of lights behind me on Fleur, so I took it on the right side,' said Tito Hunter. 'And zoom past me- I would say at least 15 vehicles.'
Those vehicles were made up of Des Moines Police and Iowa State Patrol Troopers who were in pursuit of a Blue Chevrolet Avalanche with a white male behind the wheel.
Hunter was on his way home from work and shared video he took of the incident with WHO-13. He said he believed it may have started after a traffic stop around 3:30 Friday afternoon. The suspect allegedly refused to surrender and raced his speeding pick-up across the city from MLK Jr. Parkway, past the airport, and eventually off the road in Warren County.
'I was in my living room and I felt the whole house shake,' Grant Sodders told reporter Katie Kaplan. 'I thought it was a semi speeding.'
Sodders shared his own video of what appeared to be the same vehicle as it sped by his home on Bell Avenue. At least three police cruisers trailed quickly behind.
He estimated the vehicle was traveling at least 50 miles per hour in a 30 miles per hour zone and said the Spring Break holiday was the only reason Bell Avenue was not more crowded with traffic.
'Usually, the school busses are running around that time too, but thankfully, Des Moines has been out of school for Spring Break,' Sodders said. 'So, while he was tearing down that street, you know, no one else was in any more danger.'
A third video taken by Brian Green showed the Chevy cross into oncoming lanes with officers not far behind.
'Oh my Gosh! I have never seen that happen in real life before,' he can be heard yelling in the background.
Green, who works for The Tree Service, LLC, told WHO-13 he was heading to a job site when he noticed the truck speeding toward him. It was just a few yards away when it crossed the median behind his own truck.
The chase eventually extended into Warren County where the suspect allegedly ran off the road near the Echo Valley Golf Course. The extent of damage to the course was not immediately known. Police said they were working with the business on determining a damage estimate. WHO-13 reached out to the course for a statement but has not yet heard back.
The suspect was eventually taken into custody around 4:30p.m. east of Norwalk. His identity was not immediately released, but the man had a felony warrant out for his arrest and police were still working on the case reports late into Friday night, according to Sgt. Paul Parizek. The agency expected to have more information available Saturday morning.
While it was a shocking experience to encounter the pursuit, Hunter said he was impressed by the police response.
'I appreciate how they reacted. That gave you reassurance for, you know, how your local police will be responding when you need them,' he said. 'I hope he's not going to get out anytime soon.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
18 hours ago
- New York Post
Trove of documents in alleged MS-13 gangbanger Kilmar Abrego Garcia's high-profile deportation case released
A small trove of unsealed court documents in the high-profile deportation case against alleged MS-13 gangbanger Kilmar Abrego Garcia was released Wednesday — after the Trump administration argued its unveiling posed a threat to national security. The handful of filings, which offered few new details, were made public by US District Judge Paula Xinis after The Post and other outlets fought for access. While the documents, some of which contained redactions, mostly outlined widely known information, they also provided some background on Sen. Chris Van Hollen's heavily criticized trip to El Salvador to advocate for the illegal migrant's release from the country's notorious megaprison and return to the US. Advertisement 5 Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant erroneously deported to El Salvador. via REUTERS Documents showed that El Salvador's government contacted the US ambassador to the Central American nation on April 17 to arrange the meeting at the request of the Maryland Democrat. The pair met later that day, with Van Hollen sharing photos of the Salvadoran migrant on social media. Advertisement El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, at the time, quipped on X that Abrego Garcia, who had been living in the Old Line State when he was deported, had 'miraculously risen from the 'death camps' and 'torture,'' and was 'sipping margaritas' with the lawmaker in country's 'tropical paradise.' 5 Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen shakes hands with deported Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia. X account of El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele/AFP via Getty Images Other documents revealed a Justice Department request for a one-week delay to disclose information to a Maryland court regarding efforts to facilitate the purported MS-13 member's release from Salvadoran custody. Abrego Garcia, 29, was shipped off with other reputed gang members to El Salvador's hellhole lockup CECOT in March after President Trump invoked the 18th-century Alien Enemies Act. Advertisement 5 Aerial view of the Santa Ana Penitentiary Agricultural Industrial Complex in El Salvador. AFP via Getty Images He was transferred to a lower-security facility shortly after the infamous meet-up with Van Hollen, court filings showed. The Supreme Court has since ordered the White House to facilitate Abrego Garcia's return. 5 The Trump administration has repeatedly defied court orders to return Abrego Garcia to the US. AP Advertisement But the Trump administration has repeatedly defied those orders, arguing that they have no power to bring the husband and father-of-three back to the US – despite admitting he was booted from the country as a result of an administrative error. Abrego Garcia's deportation also went against a 2019 order blocking the feds' ability to remove him to El Salvador on the grounds that he was at risk of retaliation from gangs. 5 Photo of Kilmar Abrego Garcia and his family. GoFundMe Federal officials have defended Abrego Garcia's deportation, citing his alleged role in MS-13's 'western clique,' and purported ties to human trafficking. He was also previously accused of physically abusing his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, a US citizen who has been fiercely pushing for his return.
Boston Globe
21 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Unsealed records in Abrego Garcia case offer few details that are new, unknown
'It does not disclose any potentially privileged or otherwise sensitive information for which a compelling government interest outweighs the right to access,' Xinis wrote. Xinis noted that some documents were public before the court was asked to seal them the next day. Those filings contained a back-and-forth between Abrego Garcia's attorneys and the U.S. government over efforts to return him from El Salvador. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Trump administration lawyers often objected to answering questions, arguing that they involve state secrets, sensitive diplomatic negotiations and other protected information. Advertisement For example, the U.S. attorneys mentioned 'appropriate diplomatic discussions with El Salvador.' But they wrote that disclosing the details 'could negatively impact any outcome.' Xinis also ordered the partial release of a transcript from an April 30 court hearing. Some of it will be reacted to protect potentially classified information. Wednesday's ruling was unrelated to the Trump administration pending invocation of the state secrets privilege, a legal doctrine often used in military cases. The administration has argued that releasing information about the Abrego Garcia matter in open court — or even to the judge in private – could jeopardize national security. Advertisement Xinis is yet to rule on the state secrets claim. Abrego Garcia's attorneys have argued that the Trump administration has done nothing to return the Maryland construction worker. They say the government is invoking the privilege to hide behind the misconduct of mistakenly deporting him and refusing to bring him back. Abrego Garcia's deportation violated a U.S. immigration judge's order in 2019 that shielded Abrego Garcia from expulsion to his native country. The immigration judge determined that Abrego Garcia faced likely persecution by a local Salvadoran gang that terrorized his family. Abrego Garcia's American wife sued over his deportation. Xinis ordered his return on April 4. The Supreme Court ruled on April 10 that the administration must work to bring him back. President Donald Trump told ABC News in late April that he could retrieve Abrego Garcia with a phone call to El Salvador's president. But Trump said he wouldn't do it because Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang, an allegation that Abrego Garcia denies and for which he was never charged.
a day ago
Judge rules Abrego Garcia's lawyers can seek sanctions against government
The judge overseeing the case of wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia on Wednesday granted a request from his attorneys to file a motion seeking sanctions against the government for failing to comply with discovery requests. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in April ordered the Trump administration to provide discovery evidence showing the process by which Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported to his native El Salvador despite him being issued a 2019 court order barring his deportation to his home country due to the fear of persecution. Wednesday's order from Xinis comes after Abrego Garcia's attorneys said in a court filing that some of the discovery productions by the government include "highly redacted internal messages" and other materials that were classified as "Confidential or Attorney's Eyes Only" -- without a motion to designate the items as being under seal. The judge directed the government to file its response within seven days of the motion's filing. In a separate order Wednesday, Judge Xinis ordered the unsealing of several filings related to the court's order for expedited discovery, including the transcript of a nonpublic hearing that was held on April 30. Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran native who had been living with his wife and children in Maryland, was deported in March to El Salvador's CECOT mega-prison after the Trump administration claimed he was a member of the criminal gang MS-13. His wife and attorneys deny that he is an MS-13 member. Judge Xinis ruled in April that the Trump administration must "facilitate" Abrego Garcia's return to the United States, and the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously affirmed that ruling, "with due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs." On Monday, Abrego Garcia's attorneys filed a response to a motion by the government to dismiss the case, calling the argument for dismissal a "jurisdictional gambit." "The Government asks this Court to accept a shocking proposition: that federal officers may snatch residents of this country and deposit them in foreign prisons in admitted violation of federal law, while no court in the United States has jurisdiction to do anything about it," the attorneys said in the filing. "This Court, the Fourth Circuit, and the Supreme Court each rejected that jurisdictional gambit," the attorneys said. "All three courts unanimously affirmed a preliminary injunction that the Government must facilitate the return of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia from El Salvador to the United States." In their 26-page filing, Abrego Garcia's attorneys also said there is no indication to date that the government has tried to take all available steps in good faith to facilitate Abrego Garcia's return. "History shows that when the Government makes good faith efforts to facilitate someone's return, it succeeds," they said. "Defendants' refusal to seek Abrego Garcia's return in good faith, while simultaneously claiming his return is out of their hands, does not negate redressability." The attorneys asked the court to shorten the government's time to file a reply brief from 14 days to seven days, saying that "further briefing on recycled arguments should not prolong a case that has already dragged on far too long for Abrego Garcia and his family."
