A West Des Moines man fled police in Jefferson Thursday at speeds exceeding 110 mph, and he was shot four times with a taser when he tried to flee on foot.
William Matthew Magneson Jr., 26, of 3000 University Ave., West Des Moines, was charged with second-offense eluding, reckless driving and interference with official acts. He was also issued citations for failure to obey stop sign and dark windows.
OWI charges are pending urine test results from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation lab, according to court records.
The incident began about 4:15 p.m. Thursday in Jefferson, where a patrolling officer of the Jefferson Police Department identified a 2008 Pontiac G6 that was operated by a suspect “in a domestic abuse assault earlier in the day” in Bagley, according to police.
The officer attempted to initiate a traffic stop near the intersection of Elm and Grauer streets in Jefferson, but the driver, Magneson, did not yield, and a pursuit ensued along surface streets.
Magneson allegedly “blew through the stop sign at Iowa Highway 4 and Lincoln Way intersection” at 113 mph, according to court records, and he “blew through Iowa Highway 4 and U.S. Highway 30 intersection at 100 mph.”
Magneson’s vehicle entered a motel parking lot, where it was struck and pinned on each side by patrol vehicles of the Jefferson Police Department.
Magneson “jumped out of the vehicle and attempted to flee on foot,” according to court records. Both officers deployed their tasers, but Magneson was able “to rip prongs of the taser out.” The officers “deployed second rounds” from their tasers, but Magneson “continued to rip taser prongs out of him.”
The officers chased Magneson into the motel lobby, where he was at length detained after a short struggle on the floor.
The officers allegedly found heroin on Magneson, “who admitted to injecting the narcotic shortly before the incident,” according to police.
Magneson was examined by the Greene County EMS before he was transported to the Greene County Jail, where he is held on a $5,000 cash-only bond. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Aug. 18 in Greene County District Court.
Magneson was convicted of eluding in 2019 in Polk County District Court.
The Greene County Sheriff’s office assisted at the scene and investigated the three-vehicle collision.
*A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
