Spencer, Iowa — Spencer Police and Clay County Sheriff’s deputies were led on a low-speed chase by a farm tractor early Saturday morning.
Spencer Police Chief Mark Warburton says the incident began about 1:30 Saturday morning when officers went to check on a suspicious tractor that was being operated in the parking lot of a Spencer church, located on East 18th Street. Warburton says when police attempted to stop the tractor, the driver failed to stop for police and drove away.
Warburton says officers pursued the tractor on the east side of Spencer in residential areas. He says that during the slow speed pursuit the tractor driver swerved at law enforcement several times while they attempted to deploy stop sticks. The tractor driver eventually drove onto a residential lawn. Warburton tells KIWA that when the tractor driver attempted to leave the property, he allegedly used the tractor to purposely strike a police vehicle until it came to a stop on the property. The driver, who police identify as 38-year old Jeremy Starkson of Spencer, was removed from the tractor and placed under arrest.
Warburton says the follow-up investigation determined that the tractor had been stolen from a Spencer residence earlier that night.
Starkson was booked into the Clay County Jail and was reportedly charged with: 1st Degree Theft, a class C Felony; Assault on Persons of Certain Occupations With a Dangerous Weapon, a Class D Felony; Driving While Barred, an Aggravated Misdemeanor; Reckless Driving, and Eluding, both of which are Simple Misdemeanors.
