A 23-year-old man wanted on warrants led sheriff’s deputies on a police pursuit through McHenry County before being taken into custody in Harvard, authorities said.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a vehicle for a traffic violation on December 12, according to McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Communication Specialist Emily Matusek-Baker.
The driver of the Ford truck refused to stop and a pursuit was initiated around 4:20 p.m. in the area of Route 176 and Franklinville St in an unincorporated area between Marengo and Woodstock.
The suspect, later identified as Marco Gomez, 23, of Harvard, eventually traveled westbound on Route 176 and was reportedly throwing things out of the car while traveling at 65 mph.
The pursuit went southbound on Union Road through Union and continued westbound on West Union Road before circling around the town of Union again.
The truck eventually left Union and traveled southbound on Route 20 before turning onto Marengo Road.
Sheriff’s deputies switched to an encrypted radio channel and it is unclear whether the pursuit ended. A witness saw the chase in Woodstock a short time later.
Matusek-Baker said that Gomez was eventually stopped by the Harvard Police Department and arrested on an active arrest warrant, which was not related to the pursuit by the sheriff’s office.
Gomez was charged with aggravated fleeing to elude, reckless driving, driving while license suspended, possession of a controlled substance, possession of cannabis with intent to deliver and possession of cannabis by a driver.
Court records show Gomez’s active warrant was for failing to appear in court for a prior active case in McHenry County where he was charged in Harvard in August with driving under the influence and causing a crash.
Gomez failed to appear in court in that case for a hearing on a motion for sanctions on October 31.
Gomez also had a second warrant for a new case filed against him on October 30 charging him with manufacturing or delivery of cocaine, a Class 1 felony, and possession of a weapon by a felon, a Class 2 felony.
The McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office had filed a petition to revoke his pre-trial release in his prior case for picking up new charges but they have since withdrawn that petition.
Gomez remains held in the McHenry County Jail serving a nine-day sanction sentence for missing his court date on October 31.
He is set to be released on Tuesday but jail records indicate he possibly has a hold from another agency. Gomez is scheduled to appear in court again on January 28 for a preliminary hearing.