Slow speed pursuit ends peacefully
Photos by CHANSE WATSON/ SCSO deputy Ben Abshire and OPD Chief Darell Braaten search the suspects vehicle near the westbound Big Creek exit on Monday.
Deputy Abshire tests the white substance he found in the vehicle to determine what it is. The test turned out to be positive for methamphetamine.
One of the tires on the truck that ran over SCSO detective Jeff Lee’s spike strip. The spikes only affected the tires on the driver side of the vehicle.
BIG CREEK – Not all car chases have their participants gunning it down the road at over 100+ mph.
An Oregon man was taken into custody Monday afternoon after leading authorities on a slow speed chase on Interstate-90 that caused a few crashes in Montana and traffic to backup locally.
Idaho State Police trooper Mike Lininger told the News-Press that the situation began a few hour before the actual pursuit through the Silver Valley.
At 1:07 p.m. on Nov. 18, Kellogg Police Department officers and Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office deputies made contact with Jeffrey Scott Zimmer Jr., 54, after he was found out of his vehicle in a parking lot near Jacobs Gulch and Cameron Ave.
Zimmer allegedly told the officers that he and his friend were being chased by the Hell’s Angles and that a shot had been fired in the area.
Suspecting that he was intoxicated, officers administered a breathalyzer test and Zimmer Jr.’s breath alcohol concentration (BAC) results were .224%, .196%, and .218%. It is illegal to drive in the State of Idaho with a BAC over .08%.
KPD Sgt. Paul Twidt explained that while the suspect blew over the legal limit, an arrest could not be made since officers only saw him intoxicated outside of the vehicle and not driving.
The recent Idaho Supreme Court decision in State vs. Clarke made it so that officers cannot make an arrest on any misdemeanor crime unless they saw it occur.
With no felony crime, KPD cited Zimmer Jr. and released him. The passenger with Zimmer Jr., who had passed a breathalyzer test during the initial contact (.000%), was allowed to drive them away in their black pickup truck.
Following the contact in Kellogg, trooper Lininger states that the duo headed out to Montana. It was there that Zimmer Jr. retook the wheel and caused several crashes– including two semi-trucks. It is unclear if they stopped anywhere while they where in Montana
It was roughly 3 p.m. when Montana State Police alerted local law enforcement that Zimmer Jr. was heading back into Idaho.
Personnel with ISP, SCSO and the Osburn Police Department caught up with the suspect on westbound Interstate-90 at milepost 68. Zimmer Jr. was driving around 40 mph in the center of the road and intermittently making efforts to run other vehicles off the road.
With traffic stacking up behind them, law enforcement decided to disable the black pickup truck by using spike strips. SCSO detective Jeff Lee deployed spikes at milepost 62 and was successful in popping the suspects driver-side tires.
The slow speed chase got even slower as the last bits of air escaped from the affected tires. By the time the parade of traffic made it to Osburn, the black pickup had slowed to 20 mph and the passenger was holding his hands out of his window, as a sign that he (the passenger) was ready to comply.
The pursuit finally ended when the truck pulled over just before the Big Creek exit. Zimmer Jr. and the passenger were taken into custody without incident.
During a search of the truck following the arrest, SCSO deputy Ben Abshire located a white substance in a plastic box that tested positive for methamphetamine.
While no injuries resulted from the incident in Idaho, it was unknown as of Monday night if any were incurred in Montana.
Zimmer Jr. will most likely be facing charges of eluding an officer, driving under the influence and possession of methamphetamine.
For more information on State vs. Clark, read the News-Press story “Lasting repercussions” on our website.