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Teen in chase faces charges

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By Dustin Lemmon | Saturday, August 05, 2006 | No comments posted

GENESEO, Ill. — A 17-year-old teen from central Illinois faces multiple felony charges including attempted murder of a police officer following a chase in Geneseo.

Jesiah Sparks of Secor, Ill., located about 20 miles east of Peoria, was identified as the driver of a car that allegedly tried to run over an officer before fleeing town. Police spent nearly 24 hours searching for him before his arrest Thursday afternoon.

The incident began at 3:46 p.m. Wednesday at the Shell Express gas station at 425 S. Oakwood Ave. when officers were called to investigate a motorist who couldn’t afford to pay for his gas, Geneseo Police Chief Tom Piotrowski said Thursday.

When police arrived they found the car had been reported stolen and the teen allegedly tried to run over officers as he fled. Piotrowski said one officer fired two shots at the vehicle before it took off down city streets with police in pursuit.

The suspect left city limits south on County Road 1500, before crashing into a bean field about a mile from town. Piotrowski said officers lost the teen after he ran into the fields and began searching for him with officers from multiple agencies, a helicopter with thermal imaging equipment and police dogs.

He said darkness and early morning storms hampered the search. However, about noon Thursday police received a report that the teen was spotted along the countryside south of town. He was apprehended about 1:20 p.m. southwest of Geneseo, Piotrowski said.

Police were seeking criminal charges against Sparks for attempted murder of a police officer, theft, aggravated fleeing, obstruction of justice and resisting a peace officer, Piotrowski said. The charges had not been formally filed in Henry County Circuit Court on Thursday.

Piotrowski said Sparks was being held by police Thursday on $1 million bond. A court date had not been scheduled. He said Illinois State Police will be investigating the shots police fired at the suspect’s car as it fled the scene. He said Geneseo police continue to investigate the case against Sparks.

Dustin Lemmon can be contacted at (563) 383-2493 or dlemmon@qctimes.com.