High-speed chase proceeds through Monticello

     On Tuesday, June 23, at 3:41 p.m., an officer with the Monticello Police Department (MPD) attempted to initiate a traffic stop of a vehicle in the 100 block of E. Third Street in Monticello for failing to display a registration plate and failure to stop at a stop sign.

     The vehicle, a 1992 Honda Accord, was occupied by a male driver and female passenger.

     The suspect vehicle proceeded to flee from the officer, reaching speeds of over 90 mph. The vehicle proceeded to leave Monticello on Business Highway 151 North and eventually entered a private driveway off Highway 151, north of Monticello.

     During the pursuit, the suspect proceeded to ram the pursuing officer with the vehicle. The officer performed a Pursuit Intervention Technique and forced the vehicle into the adjacent ditch.

     The suspect refused to comply with verbal commands and continued to flee in the vehicle. The suspect proceeded south back into Monticello on Business Highway 151 and through Monticello on Main Street before exiting Monticello on County Road X-44. The suspect attempted to turn north onto 190^th Street, a secondary gravel road, when the pursuing MPD officer again performed a Pursuit Intervention Technique, forcing the vehicle into the adjacent ditch.

     The vehicle was disabled and the male driver attempted to flee the vehicle on foot. After a brief foot pursuit through a wooded area, the driver was apprehended by the pursuing officer.

     Nathan Merrill Gracey, of Cedar Rapids, was arrested and charged with eluding, assault, driving while barred, and multiple traffic violations including registration violations, failure to provide insurance, failure to stop at multiple locations, and speeding. Gracey is currently being held at the Jones County Jail.

     The female passenger, Angela Pearson, also of Cedar Rapids, was released.

     Assisting were deputies with the Jones County Sheriff’s Office, and officers with the Anamosa Police Department.