A Des Moines man was arrested early Saturday after he failed to outrun law enforcement by means of a high-speed pursuit in and around Waukee.
Christopher Nicholas Montinguise, 33, of 3616 34th St., Des Moines, was charged with eluding, two counts of failure to stop in assured clear distance, two counts of driving on the wrong side of a two-way highway, reckless driving, driving while suspended, improper rear lamps and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The incident began about 3:15 a.m. Saturday in the 600 block of U.S. Highway 6 in Waukee, where a Dallas County Deputy Sheriff observed a 2020 Jeep Compass traveling westbound that did “not have any taillights illuminated,” according to court records.
The deputy attempted to initiate a traffic stop, but the Jeep, driven by Montinguise, “failed to stop and continued westbound,” ignoring the emergency lights and siren of the deputy’s patrol vehicle.
Traveling westbound at 90 mph, Montinguise “abruptly” turned his vehicle “around and began driving eastbound in the westbound lanes of U.S. Highway 6,” according to court records.
With the deputy in pursuit, Montinguise’s vehicle reentered the Waukee city limits on U.S. Highway 6 “at approximately 113 mph in a 55 mph zone” and turned northbound on N.W. 10th Street, reaching speeds of 80 mph “before turning eastbound in the westbound lanes of N.W. Sunrise Drive,” according to court records.
At the round-about intersection of N.W. Sunrise Drive and N.W. Sixth Street, Montinguise’s vehicle “launched airborne over the round-about before continuing eastbound on N.W. Sunrise Drive,” according to court records.
Montinguise’s vehicle entered a construction zone on N.W. Prairie Rose Lane, where Montinguise allegedly “was seen to throw a small plastic baggie out of the window,” according to court records.
With multiple law enforcement vehicles in pursuit, Montinguise eventually “surrendered at the dead end of N.W. Copper Leaf Court” in Waukee, according to court records.
A search of Montinguise disclosed “two tinfoil squares with burnt residue” and “a short, cut straw consistent with the kind used to ingest illegal substances,” and a search of his vehicle disclosed “two needles, a spoon with burnt residue and a dirty cotton swab,” according to court records.
Montinguise is held in the Dallas County Jail on a $5,000 cash or surety bond in advance of an initial appearance in Dallas County District Court.
Montinguise pleaded guilty to a charge of first-offense possession of a controlled substance-methamphetamine in 2018 in Polk County District Court. He was convicted of possession of drug paraphernalia in 2009 in Polk County District Court.
*A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
