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Car chase ends with arrest in parking lot
Driver was ‘visibly confused’ upon arrest in Washington, according to police
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
WASHINGTON — A swarm of police cars followed a car on three tires into a Walmart parking lot in Washington Friday afternoon, where police say they arrested the driver on charges of operating while under the influence, eluding officers and a handful of traffic tickets.
According to court documents, an Iowa State Patrol officer said he got a call from Wapello County about a vehicle driving with its back, driver-side tire blown out. Locating the vehicle in Fairfield, the officer said he flipped on emergency sirens, but that the driver, 23-year-old Washington man German Ramirez Jr., refused to pull over, instead heading north.
Ramirez’s car blew through Brighton’s 25 mph zone at 73 mph, according to court documents, which said the driver also “ran multiple stop signs, ran a red light and was crossing the center line” during the pursuit. He was arrested when he pulled into Washington’s Walmart, where the ISP officer said Ramirez had “bloodshot” eyes and “was visibly confused and had sentences that did not make sense.”
A handful of other police departments were on the scene, visible in photos of the arrest taken by a Union correspondent which showed county and city police vehicles alongside ISP cars, and an unmarked white truck with flashing sirens. A Washington County Call For Service log confirmed that a handful of its officers were dispatched after Iowa State Patrol requested assistance around 2 p.m.
Court records say Ramirez failed a handful of field sobriety tests at the scene, and told police he’d taken an anxiety medication that is a controlled substance, though court records didn’t make clear whether it had been prescribed to him. A urine test was sent to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation for testing, according to the officer’s affidavit.
In addition to eluding and OWI allegations, Ramirez was also hit with traffic tickets that accuse him of speeding, improperly using lanes, disobeying stoplights and traffic signals, and driving an unsafe vehicle.
Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com
