Two Omaha men are in custody after leading deputies on a high-speed chase through portions of Crawford and Carroll counties. Twenty-six-year old Mark A. Lea Junior and 36-year-old Brian K. Thessen are being held in the Carroll County jail on charges of attempted murder, eluding law enforcement and reckless driving.
The chase began after eight a-m when a citizen reported two men were trying to break into a coin box at the Dow City Car Wash. The pursuit began six miles west of Denison on Highway 30, proceeded through Denison and continued east into Carroll County. About one mile and a half east of Arcadia, the suspects crashed into a sheriff’s department patrol car as a deputy was attempting to deploy stop sticks.
The suspect vehicle then rolled end over end into a ditch where Lea and Thessen were taken into custody. The Crawford County Sheriff’s Department says Lea was the driver. The pursuit reached speeds in excess of 100 miles-an-hour and involved the Crawford and Carroll County Sheriff’s departments, Denison Police and Iowa State Patrol.
Story contributed by Brian Schmid, KDSN-Denison