17-02-2025
Davenport man in stolen car leads high-speed chase: Deputy, court records
A 43-year-old Davenport man faces charges in connection with a high-speed chase in Muscatine County, according to court records.
Daniel Mapel faces felony charges of first-degree theft and eluding – speed over 25 mph over the limit; an aggravated misdemeanor charge of possession of o controlled substance – second offense; and a serious misdemeanor charge of operating while under the influence – first offense, court records show.
A stolen Challenger in a high-speed chase
Shortly before 6:45 p.m. April 26, 2024, Deputy Damien Maynard of the Muscatine County Sheriff's Office saw a white 2018 Dodge Challenger traveling south on Highway 61. Arrest affidavits show the car had no license plates and window tint that was too dark (later measured at 12%). 'The vehicle also appeared to be traveling at a high rate of speed but rapidly slowed down when it saw me,' Maynard says in arrest affidavits.
The deputy turned around on the Challenger near Highway 61 and 172nd Street, and the car 'immediately sped up and began swerving in between lanes. I believed the vehicle was attempting to elude me,' the deputy says in affidavits.
He activated his squad car's emergency lights and sirens near Highway 61 and Taylor Avenue, say affidavits, which show that the Challenger driver 'was driving without due regard to the public. The vehicle was traveling at speeds of more than 100 mph in a 65 mph zone.'
Affidavits say the deputy pursued the Challenger and saw it try to turn northbound on Savannah Avenue but lost control and went into a ditch. Mapel, the driver, got out of the driver's seat and started to run north through a field.
'I chased the driver on foot before eventually catching the driver and placing him in handcuffs,' Maynard wrote in affidavits.
Mapel had bloodshot, watery eyes and 'was fidgeting, and had very dry/cotton mouth,' and he was visibly shaking, according to affidavits. Mapel admitted he had smoked marijuana about an hour beforehand.
'The driver advised he was 5 out of 10 on a level of highness,' the deputy writes in affidavits.
The Challenger, which was stolen out of Rock Island, is worth about $15,000, affidavits show.
Maynard read Maple his Miranda Rights and Mapel admitted 'he put other people's lives in danger,' and admitted he should have known the vehicle was stolen,' show affidavits, which say Mapel admitted he drove 130 mph in a 65 mph zone trying to get away from the deputy.
Affidavits show the car's owner had given permission to search the car, where investigators found a THC vape pen with a THC cartridge.
Mapel blew a 00.00 on the PBT (preliminary breath test), and was released, affidavits say. Toxicology results from the driver's urine sample 'showed the driver had methamphetamine and marijuana in his system,' according to affidavits.
On Feb. 13, 2025, Maple was charged in connection with the incident. 'The driver was already in the Muscatine County Jail' and was served the charges in the jail, affidavits show. He was released on bond, and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 24 in Muscatine County Court.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
