An hour-long chase, rising in Greene County and eventually leading officers from half a dozen law enforcement agencies across much of the northern half of Dallas County at speeds exceeding 100 mph, ended peacefully about 3:30 a.m. Saturday with the subject, Zachary Wailes of Breda, 21, taken into custody by the Greene County Sheriff’s office.
Officers of the Iowa State Patrol, deputy sheriffs from Boone, Dallas and Greene counties, Perry Police Department officers and Jefferson Police Department officers were involved at points in the pursuit.
Perry Police Department call records show Greene County Deputies alerted the Perry Police Department at 2:11 a.m. that the chase “was coming towards Perry.” According to the call log, “Officers got into position and were able to assist in the chase.”
Wailes entered Dallas County north of Dawson and turned eastward on Iowa Highway 141. Perry Police officers set up spikes along the highway near the Perry Municipal Airport in order to puncture the tires of the fugitive’s vehicles, but these proved unsuccessful, according to radio traffic.
Wailes did not enter the city limits of Perry but turned south on Hull Avenue, just west of the Raccoon River bridge. He then led his pursuers for some time along the remote back roads of Washington and Lincoln townships.
During this time he was pursued by one Greene County Deputy Sheriff and one Perry Police Department officer. At least one law enforcement vehicle was disabled during the chase after it entered a ditch. Several other attempts at stopping the fugitive vehicle with spikes also failed.
Wailes eventually returned to a paved roadway, turning eastward on Iowa Highway 44 at Laredo Trail, just west of the Raccoon River bridge. Again reaching sustained speeds of more than 110 mph, the fugitive ran the stop sign at U.S. Highway 169 and continued to Dallas Center, turning north on Quinlan Avenue and again taking gravel roads northerly through Sugar Grove and Beaver townships.
The flight eventually led to Iowa Highway 141 near Woodward, where Wailes turned westward on the eastbound lanes of the highway. He traveled westward on the wrong side of Iowa Highway 141 until reaching U.S. Highway 169, where he turned southward. Proceeding toward Minburn, Wailes’ vehicle was now pursued by eight or 10 law enforcement vehicles.
The pursuit ended on 230th Street, when Wailes lost control of his vehicle. He was taken into custody about 3:15 a.m. by the Greene County Sheriff’s office and is being held at the Greene County Jail.
A Carroll County warrant for Wailes’ arrest had been issued prior to the Saturday morning chase, and he now faces new charges of felony eluding, felony drug possession, possession of drug paraphernalia and several other traffic violations.
ThePerryNews.com will update this story as information becomes available.
