Man Led Wauwatosa Police On 9-Mile Chase Before Crash: Police

GREENFIELD, WI — A 40-year-old Greenfield man who faces 14 felony charges, faces six new charges against him after authorities say he drove away after police tried to pull him over, and led authorities on a nine-mile chase at nearly 100 miles per hour.

Phoumanivong Keophiphath has been charged with obstructing an officer, two counts of bail jumping, possession of methamphetamine, driving a vehicle without the owner's consent, and fleeing an officer.

According to court records, an arrest warrant for Keophiphath was issued related to a 2018 case in which a Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge levied 14 charges against him. In that case, Keophiphath was charged with seven counts of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and multiple drug charges.

According to the criminal complaint, Keophiphath was behind the wheel of a Honda Civic when he tried driving around a traffic stop on the 4400 block of N. 124th Street in Wauwatosa on the night of Feb. 25.

Police said Keophiphath tried driving around the traffic stop, and nearly hit a police car in the attempt. According to the criminal complaint, when police tried pulling over the car Keophiphath was driving, he sped away, leading to a police chase.

According to the criminal complaint, police said Keophiphath took the following route as he fled police that night:

• West onto W. Silver Spring Drive, ignoring a red traffic signal
• A U-turn at W. Park Drive
• East onto W. Silver Spring Drive, where he turned off his front and rear lights
• South on to I-41/45 while driving more than 90 miles per hour in a posted 55 mile per hour zone
• East on to W. Burleigh Street, going through a red traffic signals at N. 114th and N. 112th
• Streets
• A suspected bag of narcotics was thrown out the window at N. 112th Street but not recovered
• A tire-deflation device was deployed at W. Burleigh Street and N. 92nd Street and the Honda
• continued on W. Burleigh Street
• North on N. 84th Street
• East on W. Auer Ave.
• North on N. 83rd Street
• East on W. Concordia Ave., going through a stop sign
• North on N. 82nd Street
• North on W. Lisbon Avenue, going through a stop sign, nearly striking another car and
• ignoring a red traffic light at N. 84th Street.
• South onto N. 86th Street
• East on W. Townsend Street
• South on N. 84th Street, going through a stop sign
• East into an alley in the 3300 block of N. 83rd Street and crashing into the curb.

Police said the case 7 minutes and 4 seconds and went for 9.2 miles

According to police, when the vehicle stopped, Keophiphath got out and ran. Police say they eventually chased Keophiphath down and arrested him.

According to the criminal complaint, officers noted there was no key in
the ignition, and the ignition appeared that it had been tampered with. There were several unknown vehicle keys on the front driver’s floorboard, including some that had been shaved down, police said.

Police said they found a credit card with Keophiphath's name on it, along with a folded piece of paper that contained a methamphetamine and a small amount of marijuana. Police said they also found ammunition inside the car.