Muscatine man arrested in Louisa County on multiple charges after police chase (2024)

An attempted vehicle stop in Louisa County has led to a Muscatine man being charged with eluding police.

Francisco Nunez, 46, of Muscatine, is charged with felony eluding, a Class C felony; driving while revoked, a serious misdemeanor; interference with official acts, a simple misdemeanor; driving while suspended, a simple misdemeanor; reckless driving, a simple misdemeanor; and multiple traffic violations.

Further charges are pending.

A hearing for first appearance is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 14. Nunez remains at the Louisa County Jail on a $7,500.00 cash only bond.

According to a news release from the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office, at about 2:06 p.m. on Thursday, a member of the Columbus Junction Police Department attempted to conduct a traffic stop in the 200 block of 2nd Street on a 2008 Nissan Maxima that, according to court documents, was travelling the wrong way in a one-way zone.

The officer reported the driver would stop, exit the vehicle, then went back into the vehicle and fled westbound from downtown Columbus Junction at a high rate of speed, nearly colliding with several vehicles.

The officer reported that at the intersection of Western Access and Highway 92, the vehicle almost caused an accident with a semi. The police report said the vehicle continued to not yield or pull over. Once on Highway 92, the vehicle began weaving between lanes and making aggressive passes past vehicles.

The vehicle reportedly crashed through a road construction barrier at Highway 92 and X17. The officer reported there were workers on that stretch of roadway at the time. After crashing through the barrier, officers reported Nunez lost control of the vehicle and rolled several times.

Nunez then crawled out of the passenger-side window, crawled over a barbed wire fence and ran into timber to the south of the scene.

A perimeter was set up with Columbus Junction Police officers and Louisa County Deputies, later locating Nunez with K9 Drake and utilizing a drone.

A Deputy Sheriff was injured in the attempt to capture the subject in the timber and sustained minor injuries. Nunez complained of back and neck pain but was cleared later at a local hospital. At the hospital, officers observed Nunez telling hospital staff he had been driving 90 to 100 MPH when he crashed through the barricade.

The officer also reported Nunez had said he was trying to do a suicide by cop.

Agencies that assisted were the Louisa County Ambulance, Mincers Towing, Iowa State Patrol, Iowa Department of Transportation and the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office.

The Iowa State Patrol conducted a traffic collision investigation at the scene. An open container of beer was located inside the vehicle. The plate of the vehicle did not belong to car.

Nunez has a previous conviction for eluding in 2022.

Officers also report the vehicle was required to have a motion interlock device which it did not, and no insurance was found in the vehicle.