Man who led cops on chase through I-43 construction zone after Grafton theft sentenced to four years in prison
By BILL SCHANEN IV
Ozaukee Press staff
A 41-year-old man who led authorities on a midday, high-speed chase through the I-43 construction zone in Ozaukee County after stealing tools from Home Depot in Grafton last year was sentenced to four years in prison earlier this month.
Milwaukee resident Josean R. Quinones Marcial, who pleaded guilty to felony counts of second-degree recklessly endangering safety, fleeing officers and retail theft, was also sentenced by Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Steve Cain to three years of extended supervision following his incarceration during a Feb. 7 hearing.
Quinones Marcial hit 114 mph as he sped south on the section of freeway south of Grafton that is being reconstructed just after noon on Wednesday Aug. 10, weaving in and out of traffic, attempting to use other vehicles to put distance between him and the squad cars pursuing him, driving on the shoulder and hitting a construction barrel, according to a criminal complaint.
Quinones Marcial, who told police he used heroin hours before the chase, was also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. That charge was dismissed as part of a plea agreement but read into the record, which means Cain could consider it when sentencing him.
The 2009 Honda CR-V Quinones Marcial was driving hit tire spikes deployed by officers in a gap in the construction zone, but he continued to speed south.
His vehicle was found abandoned and locked on I-43 at Donges Bay Road. Inside the vehicle, officers saw Makita and Milwaukee power tools, many with security tags still on them, that matched the description of those stolen from Home Depot.
Also found in the vehicles were items commonly used to inject heroin, including used syringes, bloody napkins, a tourniquet and cotton balls.
The Cedarburg Police Department dog Ranger found Quinones Marcial’s baseball hat off Port Washington Road in Mequon not far from where he left his vehicle and, at 3:15 p.m., a Mequon police officer found him leaning against a construction sign on Mequon Road.
The chase started shortly after a Home Depot loss prevention officer called police to report that a man driving a light blue CR-V without license plates, who was later identified as Quinones Marcial, walked out of the store with $1,060 worth of power tools.
A Grafton police officer saw Quinones Marcial driving out of the parking lot and activated his emergency lights and siren. That is when Quinones Marcial sped away.
When interviewed by police after his arrest, Quinones Marcial initially denied he stole the tools and insisted that a man recorded on surveillance video stealing the tools was not him, even though the man in the video was wearing the same clothes as him and had the same tattoos.
Later, however, he told authorities he stole the tools because he needed money to pay rent and buy heroin, adding that he had used drugs at 7 a.m. the day of the chase, the complaint states.
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