Story update:
Mendota police say a 38-year old man arrested after a car chase and then a foot chase Thursday is wanted in Oregon on heroin charges. Joshua N. Hamrick also may have stolen the car he drove at high speeds from a traffic stop in Mendota to someone’s back yard south of the city. Police are looking into that. Other charges he faces include reckless driving, fleeing and eluding, and driving while under the influence of a controlled substance.
Earlier story:A high speed chase in a car and then a chase on foot ended south of Mendota Thursday with a Sterling man facing at least nine charges. Mendota police say it started when Joshua N. Hamrick went the wrong way down the 600 block of 7th Ave., a one way street.
Police say he stopped the Porsche Cayenne he was driving, a passenger got out, and then the car took off. It went south on Illinois 251, went through someone’s front yard, and then between two houses into a back yard. Hamrick allegedly fled the vehicle.
When police caught Hamrick, they wrote charges that include reckless driving, fleeing and eluding, and driving while under the influence of a controlled substance. Hamrick’s also named in warrants in Lee and Whiteside counties. More charges, related to the vehicle being stolen, could be filed too.
Pictured: Joshua Hamrick, photo supplied by Mendota Police Dept.