Ames Police: Fellows Locked Down During Man Hunt

Updated May 3, 2013

Fellows Elementary School was locked down for a short period of time Friday as Ames Police pursued a man, Ames police have confirmed.

Ames police began chasing a man in a car about 9:30 a.m. near Bloomington Road. He stopped near 24^th Street and Pierce Avenue, just down the road from Fellows and fled on foot, police said.

Ames police requested that the school be placed on lockdown as a precaution. Ames Police CMDR. Geoff Huff said they told the school that they were pursuing a guy on foot in the general area and didn't want him to enter the building.

Thanks to the weather, police were able to follow the man's footprints in the snow and found him trying to hide in a closet of a home on Northwestern Avenue that was not his, according to the release.

James Willie Jennings, 41, of Jewell, was charged with eluding, driving under suspension, criminal trespass, interference with official acts and various traffic related charges.

Police were alerted to Jennings by law enforcement in Story City who said that a driver fled a traffic stop there and may be headed to Ames, the release said.

Ames Community Schools notified parents about the lock down after the chase.

Fellows students were never in danger, said Kathy Hanson, Ames School, community and media relations director.

“It was over within 6 minutes,” Hanson said.

The brief pursuit allowed the school to test its lock down procedure.

“We have a procedure in place and it worked very well this morning,” Hanson said. 

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