The Des Moines man who faces a raft of criminal charges after he allegedly stole an Iowa State Patrol Trooper’s patrol vehicle Tuesday afternoon and led law enforcement on a high-speed pursuit across southern Dallas County and northern Madison County was handcuffed at the time of the pursuit.
Brandon Eugene Doerring, 31, of 1334 22nd St., Des Moines, was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, first-degree theft-pocket-picking, reckless driving, eluding, assault with intent of injury-peace officer and others, driving while license denied, suspended, cancelled or revoked, first-offense OWI, speeding, possession of a controlled substance and second-degree theft-motor vehicle under $10,000/over $1,000.
The incident began shortly before 1 p.m. near the 104 mile marker of U.S. Interstate 80 near Earlham, where an Iowa State Patrol trooper responded to an accident on the interstate. The vehicle that Doerring was driving, a Monte Carlo stolen out of Dexter, was hung up in the cable barriers.
“The trooper had some sort of interaction with him,” according to Dallas County Chief Deputy Adam Infante, and “ended up making an arrest and handcuffed the suspect and put him in the backseat of his patrol car.”
While the trooper was acquiring the vehicle identification number from the stolen Monte Carlo, Doerring allegedly “brought his cuffs around to the front, jumped into the driver’s seat of the trooper’s car and stole it,” Infante said.
“It got a little crazy from there,” he said. “A chase ensued, and the sheriff himself was actually in the chase and was the one who basically got him to stop, I think.”
The pursuit followed a circuitous route, with Doerring first proceeding eastward on U.S. Interstate 80 and then southward on Ute Avenue, westward on the Booneville Road, southward on Tabor Road and so on.
Infante said that Dallas County Sheriff Chad Leonard was driving an agency pickup truck and in the course of the chase used a maneuver called a pursuit intervention technique (PIT) several times before successfully stopping the ISP patrol vehicle.
“I think in this case there were multiple PITs used, and this guy kept getting away,” Infante said.
The fugitive left the roadway and drove across farm fields at several points in the chase, which covered some 20 to 25 miles in southern Dallas and northern Madison counties.
Doerring eventually abandoned the ISP patrol vehicle and fled on foot. He was taken into custody at gunpoint about 1:30 p.m. near Timber Ridge Avenue and Tree Line Court.
“It could have been worse,” Infante said. “We ended up with a little bit of vehicle damage to some cars, but that stuff’s the cost of doing business, unfortunately.”
Paramedics were dispatched to examine Doerring, who was bleeding from the head and complained of a sore wrist, according to radio traffic.
Doerring is held in the Dallas County Jail in advance of an initial appearance in Dallas County District Court.
*A criminal charge is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
