Eureka Police arrested a 68-year-old Festus man after he reportedly was found driving a car that had been reported stolen. A license-detection system that had been installed in four high-traffic areas in the city in April alerted police to the stolen vehicle, authorities reported.
After the system detected the 2021 Nissan Sentra on Fifth Street, Eureka Police were notified around 10:15 p.m. Oct. 3 about the car that St. Louis County Police had reported stolen on Sept. 23. An officer drove to the area and spotted the car headed west, the report said.
The officer pulled behind the Sentra as it approached Workman Road. The suspect initially started to slow down but then accelerated and headed north on Six Flags Road toward the Six Flags amusement park, according to the report.
When the suspect reached the closed gate at the park’s entrance, he made a U-turn and allegedly traveled in the wrong direction on the entrance road. Then, he allegedly traveled south in the northbound lanes on Six Flags Road, nearly hitting other vehicles, before turning left onto Fifth Street, the report said.
Another Eureka Police officer joined the pursuit on Fifth Street, and the two cruisers followed the suspect, who allegedly reached a speed of 70 mph. The man turned onto southbound Hwy. 109 and then got onto Hwy. FF, where he traveled west at a high rate of speed and allegedly crossed the highway’s center line, according to the report.
The officers continued to follow the car when it turned onto Hwy. F and headed north. The suspect then turned right onto Byrnesville Road before getting onto Hwy. NN and traveling southeast towards Hwy. 30, the report said.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office had deployed tire spikes at the intersection of highways NN and 30. When the driver saw the Sheriff’s Office cruisers, he turned into a driveway at 4860 Hwy. NN and stopped, Eureka Police reported.
The officers then arrested the man without further incident. They also allegedly found several plastic bags containing a white powdery substance inside the car, the report said.
The man allegedly told the officers the substance was fentanyl. He also said he had borrowed the car from a friend but knew it was not his friend’s car, according to the report.
The man was taken to the Police Station, where he was booked and released pending application for warrants. Depending on results of the drug analysis, Eureka Police will seek charges against the man through the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for first-degree tampering, resisting arrest, careless and imprudent driving, driving while revoked and possession of a controlled substance, Lt. Michael Werges said.