Wisconsin man sentenced on Floyd County chase charges

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

A Wisconsin man charged after a high speed chase that ended up in Floyd County and caused minor injuries to a sheriff’s deputy and a police officer, was sentenced to 30 days in jail this week after earlier pleading guilty and having some charges dismissed.

Leonard Michael Lewis, age 21, of Madison, Wisconsin, was charged with eluding a law enforcement vehicle, an aggravated misdemeanor; operating a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent, an aggravated misdemeanor; and two counts of interference with official acts resulting in bodily injury, both serious misdemeanors.

He was also charged with speeding, two counts of failure to stop at a stop sign and operating without a valid driver’s license.

He was sentenced in Floyd County District Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to the first three counts. One count of interference with official acts and the traffic violations were dismissed.

Judge Peter Newell sentenced Lewis to two years in prison on each of the eluding and operating without consent charges, then suspended both prison sentences and also suspended $650 fines and 35 percent surcharges on both counts.

He sentenced him to two years probation on both counts.

Newell sentenced Lewis to 30 days in jail on the charge of interference with official acts and fined him $315 plus a 35 percent state surcharge.

The judge also ordered Lewis to write a letter of apology to the officers involved, to be approved by the Department of Corrections.

According to law enforcement and court records, the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office received a report at 10:50 p.m. on Jan. 15 of a reckless driver headed east toward Floyd County from Cerro Gordo County, traveling on Highway 27, the Avenue of the Saints.

A Floyd County sheriff’s deputy located the vehicle west of Floyd and clocked it at 100 mph in a 65 mph zone. When the deputy caught up to the vehicle and ran the license plate, it came back as having been reported stolen in Minneapolis.

The deputy attempted to pull over the vehicle, but it continued at speeds higher than 100 mph, the report said. Other law enforcement agencies also joined in the effort to apprehend the driver.

The vehicle attempted to make a turn onto Waterbury Road from Highway 27, south of Floyd, lost control, went through a ditch and came to a stop in a farm field. Lewis was taken into custody after a short foot chase, the report said.

A Floyd County deputy and Charles City police officer had both received minor injuries and were treated and released at the Floyd County Medical Center.