Felony charges filed against man who led police on chase

A 21-year-old Milwaukee man was charged last week in Ozaukee County Circuit Court with leading police on a high-speed chase through Grafton and Cedarburg after throwing a loaded handgun out the window of his car.

The Thursday, Jan. 14, chase ended when Isaiah D. Sutton, who raced through Grafton and into Cedarburg at 80 mph, failed to stop at a downtown intersection and hit another vehicle, according to the criminal complaint.

He attempted to run away but was quickly arrested.

The incident began at 7 a.m. when a Grafton police officer attempted to stop Sutton, who was driving north on Wisconsin Avenue near Falls Road, for speeding.

Instead of stopping, Sutton turned on to Seventh Avenue and into a parking lot, where the officer saw him throw something out the window of his car. After a person who was walking through the parking lot yelled to the officer that the object was a gun, the officer drew his weapon and was waiting for other officers to respond when Sutton sped away, heading south on Seventh Avenue to Wisconsin Street, the complaint states.

Sutton failed to stop at stop signs and drove around cars using the right-hand turn lane and crossing into the oncoming traffic lane, at one point almost colliding head-on with a semi truck, as he sped out of Grafton and into Cedarburg, according to the complaint.

At the intersection of Columbia Road and Washington Avenue in downtown Cedarburg, Sutton disregarded a red light and hit another vehicle so hard it spun 180 degrees, the complaint states.

After officers arrested Sutton, they searched his vehicle and found marijuana in it, according to the complaint.

The handgun that Sutton threw out the window of his car was stolen during a 2019 burglary in Glendale. It was fully loaded with a round in the chamber.

Sutton admitted to throwing the gun out the window but denied knowing that it was stolen. He said he found the gun in a South Milwaukee alley three months ago, the complaint states.

He is charged with felony counts of fleeing an officer-causing property damage and second-degree recklessly endangering safety and misdemeanor counts of negligent handling of a weapon, hit and run, possession of marijuana and operating a vehicle after his license was revoked.

Sutton’s driver’s license was revoked in January 2020 because of an operating while intoxicated offense.

He is being held in the county jail in lieu of $20,000 bail.