At 7:02 a.m., the Washington County Sheriff’s Office reported the suspect from last night’s chase has been located and is in custody. Walter Joseph James Jr., 30-years-old, of Iowa City was arrested for driving under suspension, speeding, failure to obey a stop sign, reckless driving, failure to maintain control, driving on the wrong side of a two-way highway, possession of a controlled substance marijuana third offense, alluding and burglary in the third degree. James was located at a residence in the 1900 block of 190th Street, or G26.
At approximately 10:09 p.m. a traffic accident was reported near Juniper Avenue and 200th Street, near West Chester, as the result of a pursuit. Washington County Sheriff’s personnel was in pursuit of the vehicle, southbound on Highway 1 from the Johnson/Washington County line. Iowa State Patrol, Washington Fire and Rescue, Washington County Sheriff’s personnel, and West Chester QRS responded to the scene and attempted to locate the occupant who took off on foot.
Sheriff Jerry Dunbar adds that the City of Washington’s K-9 unit assisted in the search. Dunbar explained, the suspect got cold as temperatures dipped to just 4 degrees, and he went to the residence and asked to use the phone. This led the authorities to his whereabouts.
The text message alert was sent using the county’s WENS, Washington Emergency Notification System. You can register to receive the messages on the county’s website.
11 a.m. update: Cara Sorrells, director of the 911 communications center explains the text message alert was supposed to go to phones within two miles of the incident, however it exceeded that area. She apologizes to those who received it outside of the radius. Sorrells adds they are working with the application company to avoid a similar problem in the future. Also, Sorrells states it is difficult to fit all of the information into a single text message with 160 characters.
KCII News is continuing to work on the developing story and will bring you more information as it becomes official.