A man who didn’t want to get a ticket faces a long list of charges now, after a chase that covered the entire east side of Council Bluffs. State Patrol Sergeant J-R Pearson says it began Friday with what should have been routine traffic stop. The driver of a black truck wouldn’t pull over, and took off instead.
A short pursuit ensued on Interstate-29, Interstate-80 and from there onto Highway 6. Officers put out “stop sticks” to flatten his tires and he hit a couple of them, stopped the truck and “bailed out,” and took off on foot into the northeast side of Council Bluffs. He was running in the direction of the Iowa Western Community College campus, and witnesses began to offer their reports upon seeing the fleeing man.
Some citizens called in to verify the subject they were looking for was on foot, and the cops brought in a K-9 officer, who helped track him down near the city’s National Guard armory. It was just a traffic stop, but since he didn’t want to stop for the trooper and took off, he was charged after it was all over with eluding an officer, reckless driving, OWI, and possession of drug paraphernalia the officers say he was throwing out during the chase. The suspect’s identified as 32-year-old Victor Betancort of Bellevue, Nebraska.