A 37-year-old Port Byron man is in custody after Bettendorf Police say he led a high-speed chase early Tuesday, hit a retaining wall, then ran from officers.
Jeffrey Ponce Jr. faces a felony charge of eluding and a serious misdemeanor charge of possession of methamphetamine, court records say.
Shortly before 2 a.m. Tuesday, Bettendorf Police say Ponce Jr. was driving a white Nissan Altima with a non-functional middle brake light.
An officer conducted a traffic stop around 8th and State streets, but Ponce Jr. kept driving at a high rate of speed east on State Street near the intersection of 8th Street, an arrest affidavit says.
“The vehicle continued to elude, traveling at a high rate of speed with no regard for public safety,” the affidavit says. Ponce Jr. reached speeds of 70 mph in a 35-mph zone in the 1700 block of State Street, and failed to stop at the Devils Glen/Middle Road intersection.
Ponce Jr. “was stop sticked by an assisting Bettendorf Police Officer near the intersection of 23rd Street and Middle Road and continued to attempt to elude law enforcement,” the affidavit says. Ponce Jr. crossed over the median in the 900 block of Middle Road, traveling on the wrong side of the highway.
He then left the roadway and failed to maintain control of the car, driving into a private parking lot and striking a retaining wall with the car, the affidavit says. Ponce Jr. then ran off, but officers apprehended him.
Police searched him and found on his person a clear bag of meth weighing 1.37 grams total package weight, one pipe containing meth residue, and one pipe containing marijuana residue, the affidavit says.
His license was suspended in Illinois, and he has no valid driver’s license in Iowa, the affidavit says.
Ponce Jr., who is being held in Scott County Jail on a total $34,000 bond, is set for a preliminary hearing May 27 in Scott County Court.