(KIWA Staff Photo)
Western Lyon County, Iowa — A Madison, South Dakota man has been arrested on a felony eluding charge after a law enforcement pursuit in western Lyon County on Tuesday.
A Lyon County Sheriff’s deputy accuses 20-year-old Sam Beldin of Madison, South Dakota, of fleeing at a high speed, according to a criminal complaint filed with the Clerk of Court. He reportedly turned himself in, later in the day.
In his statement, the deputy says that according to his radar, Beldin was going 85 MPH in a 60 MPH zone on 140th Street near Granite. The deputy activated his emergency lights and pursued the suspect vehicle — a 2007 Dodge Magnum. He says he pursued the vehicle through Granite, and that the vehicle was observed breaking a number of laws, and then, just before crossing into South Dakota, was going 105 MPH. The deputy says Beldin committed a number of traffic violations in South Dakota as well. He says he terminated the pursuit after the driver took a second round of gravel roads, due to safety concerns. But he says the Lincoln County, South Dakota Sheriff’s Office let Lyon County authorities know that about 20 minutes later, Beldin had called their office and wanted to turn himself in, so he met the deputy at the Klondike Bridge and was taken to jail in Rock Rapids.
Beldin faces several charges, the most serious of which is eluding at over 25 miles per hour over the speed limit, a class D felony. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison.
He also faces misdemeanor charges of reckless driving, three counts of excessive speed, failure to obey a traffic control device, failure to maintain control, careless driving, failure to yield to a vehicle on the right, and unsafe passing.
A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for July 31st.
Beldin was booked into the Lyon County Jail in Rock Rapids and was released on Thursday after posting a $7000 bond.
