High-speed pursuit ends in arrest

HOWARD COUNTY - On Aug. 3, 2022 at approximately 6:40 p.m., the Howard County Sheriff’s Office received a call of a stolen vehicle from 19951 Robin Ave. 

Eventually, Steven Robert Wildman, age 34, of Cresco was arrested with multiple charges.

The caller from the stolen vehicle indicated a black truck with a trailer loaded with scrap had been stolen. The stolen truck was a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 2500. The caller saw the truck and trailer leave the yard, and he followed it. 

Deputy Shane Thorsten located the vehicle, with the help of the caller, and pursued the truck on Highway 9, traveling between 80 and 90 miles per hour. The driver began to jerk the vehicle aggressively from left to right causing the trailer to toss scrap onto the roadway and at the patrol vehicle. 

The truck then rammed through a chain blocking access to the Turkey River wildlife area on Highway 9, east of Robin Ave. Deputy Thorsten pursued the vehicle south, where it rammed through a second chain and proceeded east off of the trail and then turned back north and traversed a waterway.

Meanwhile, Deputy Thorsten’s patrol vehicle had become stuck in the mud. The truck was located a short time later unoccupied, as it had run out of fuel.  The Cresco Police Department then arrived on scene and located Wildman attempting to steal a 2014 GMC Acadia Denali that was for sale parked along Highway 9.  

Wildman was detained. It was then discovered he had his 15-month-old daughter in a car seat placed into the GMC along with his wallet.  

Wildman was arrested and charged with Eluding, Class D-Felony; 3rd Degree Burglary, Aggravated Misdemeanor; 1st Degree Theft, Class C-Felony; Child Endangerment, Aggravated Misdemeanor; Spilling Loads on a Highway, Simple Misdemeanor; Speeding, 90 in a 55 MPH Zone, Simple Misdemeanor; Driving on Wrong Side of Two Lane Highway, Simple Misdemeanor; Unsafe Passing, Simple Misdemeanor; and Reckless Driving, Simple Misdemeanor. More charges are pending.

The Magistrate Judge set his bond at $15,000 cash or corporate surety.