Man sentenced to prison for chase that began in Grafton

A 44-year-old man who was drunk when he led authorities on a high-speed chase that began in Grafton and ended only after an officer rammed his SUV twice in Mequon was sentenced last week in Ozaukee County Circuit Court to three years in prison.

Dylan G. Page of Mequon, who pleaded guilty to second-degree recklessly endangering safety, a felony, and a misdemeanor charge of third-offense operating while intoxicated during a hearing in February, was also sentenced by Judge Adam Gerol to five years of extended supervision on April 15.

A felony charge of fleeing an officer was dismissed as part of a plea agreement but read into the record, which means Gerol could consider the facts surrounding that charge when he sentenced Page.

During a Feb. 11 plea hearing, Assistant District Attorney Kristian Kanekoa Lindo recommended that Dylan be sentenced to three years in prison and three years of extended supervision but the sentence be stayed and he be placed an probation for three years and serve nine months in jail as a condition of probation plus six additional months on the drunken driving conviction.

According to a criminal complaint, at 1:36 a.m. Monday, March 17, Ozaukee County sheriff’s deputy Michael Zilke was monitoring northbound traffic on I-43 near Falls Road in Grafton when he saw a Lincoln Navigator with a defective headlight.

Zilke followed the Navigator and noticed it was driving over the fog line. The deputy activated his vehicle’s emergency lights and the driver of the Navigator, later identified as Page, accelerated, the complaint states.

Page exited the freeway at Highway 60, pulled into the Hampton Inn and Suites parking lot, then turned onto Gateway Drive, drove around a squad car and headed east on Highway 60 into the Town of Grafton.

He hit 90 mph in a 45-mph zone before slamming on his brakes, blowing a stop sign and speeding south on Highway C at 80 to 90 mph while driving on the center line and in the oncoming traffic lane.

Page turned onto Pioneer Road and entered the freeway, heading south at more than 100 mph and taking up multiple lanes.

He eventually exited I-43, hit a median while failing to stop for a red light and drove north in the southbound lanes of North Port Washington Road in Mequon toward several oncoming vehicles at about 60 mph in a 35-mph zone, the complaint states.

Page then headed west on Mequon Road, where Grafton police officer Patrick Brock, who noticed the front driver’s side tire of the Navigator was flat, performed a PIT maneuver, hitting the SUV and spinning it 180 degrees. But  instead of stopping, Page drove straight at Zilke before driving over a curb onto a sidewalk, through a ditch and into the PNC Bank parking lot, according to the complaint. Zilke noticed Page appeared to be talking on his cell phone at the time.

Page then drove south on North Port Washington Road, where Brock performed another PIT maneuver and stopped the Navigator on West Mequon Road. Page appeared to be finishing his cell phone call and waved at officers.

As he was being put into a squad car, Page said he “ran because I already (got) one,” referring to a previous operating while intoxicated conviction, according to the complaint.

Zilke noticed the strong smell of alcohol on Page’s breath and said he was slurring his words. Page denied drinking but said he should not have been driving, the complaint states.

A blood test indicated Page had an alcohol  level of .228, according to the complaint.

The chase spanned 13 miles, lasted 12 minutes and involved five law enforcement agencies.