Hill

MELBOURNE — A West Des Moines man was arrested in Jasper County early Saturday morning after leading officers on a high-speed chase that began in the parking lot of a gas station near Melbourne.

At 2:39 a.m. on April 23, a Marshall County Sheriff’s deputy checked on an occupied vehicle parked at the station, which was closed, and the driver provided a false name and information.

A check of the vehicle registration revealed that the owner of the vehicle had outstanding warrants out of five different Iowa counties, with two of the counties holding felony warrants, and his drivers license had a status of “barred” and “revoked” in Iowa. It was determined that the driver, 34-year-old Austin James Hill of West Des Moines, was the owner of the vehicle.

Hill drove away from the deputy and officer at the scene, and a pursuit ensued, reaching speeds of over 100 miles per hour and continuing southbound on Highway 330 and then Highway 65 into Jasper and Polk County. The vehicle then turned back northbound and drove off Highway F-17 in Jasper County into a farm field where Hill fled a short distance on foot from the vehicle before climbing a tree. He was taken into custody without incident with assistance from the Marshalltown Police Department K9, the Iowa State Patrol, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office, and the Des Moines Police Department.

Hill was arrested and taken to the Marshall County Jail. He was charged with eluding, reckless driving, speed 100/65, driving while barred, driving while revoked, driving under suspension, no valid drivers license, operating a motor vehicle without ignition interlock device, and providing false information. He is being held on a $5,000 bond for Marshall County charges and warrants out of Adams, Polk, and Tama counties.