Tense chase in Belgium ends in arrests

Multiple felony charges have been requested for two male teenagers that allegedly went on a car theft spree before being arrested in the Town of Belgium Monday night.

The Sheboygan Police Department requested that a 17-year-old from Manitowoc be charged with attempted first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree recklessly endangering safety and two counts party to a crime of armed robbery, according to Lt. Doug Teunissen of the Sheboygan Police Department.

A 16-year-old from Sheboygan was requested to be charged with party to a crime of first-degree reckless homicide, party to a crime first-degree recklessly endangering safety and two counts party to a crime of armed robbery.

The 17-year-old will go through adult court. It wasn’t known if the 16-year-old would be waived into adult court or not. A call to the Sheboygan County District Attorney wasn’t immediately returned.

The teenagers were arrested after allegedly stealing a car in Manitowoc and another in Sheboygan before racing south on I-43 into Ozaukee County on Monday.

At 6:25 p.m., a vehicle pursuit entered Ozaukee County, and the county Sheriff’s Office began to assist the Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies stopped the vehicle with a tire deflation device, according to the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office.

The teenagers then fled on foot and were arrested near Sandy Beach Road at about 8 p.m. They were considered armed and dangerous, and an alert telling residents to shelter in place was sent through Ozaukee County’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System.

Southbound traffic on I-43 was rerouted to Highway D and then to KW or Highway 57. Belgium Fire Chief Dan Birenbaum said all volunteers were called and the department used five trucks and its rescue squad to help with traffic control.

An all-clear message was sent to residents.

The incident began, according to the Sheboygan Police Department, when the teens allegedly stole a car in Manitowoc, then drove to Sheboygan and tried to steal another shortly after 6 p.m. 

The driver drove away from them and the suspects fired shots that struck the vehicle, but nobody was hurt, according to the police department.

Shortly after, another vehicle was stolen after a suspect pointed a firearm at the driver in the 1300 block of North 15th Street in Sheboygan.

Both vehicles left the area and were found on I-43 by the Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Office.

The stolen vehicle from Manitowoc was stopped with the tire deflation device just south of the Village of Belgium, after which the foot chase ensued.

Nobody was injured in any of the incidents, Teunissen said.

The investigation is ongoing and the police are interested in talking to some people, he said.

The vehicle stolen in Sheboygan had not been located as of Tuesday. It is a red 2015 Ford Edge sport utility with Wisconsin license plates 444DSW.

Given the case spanned three counties, Teunissen said, he was proud that several law enforcement agencies quickly combined efforts that led to the arrest of the teenagers.

“Within an hour we had three counties working together,” he said.

Anyone with information about the disturbance is encouraged to call Sheboygan Police at 920-459-3333, or they may provide information anonymously through Sheboygan Countywide Crime Stoppers at 877-CUF-THEM (877-283-8436) or online at cufthem.com.

Those responding came from the Sheboygan, Manitowoc, Port Washington, Plymouth, Saukville, Mequon, Thiensville, Cedarburg and Grafton police departments, the Ozaukee and Sheboygan counties’ sheriff’s offices, Ozaukee County Special Response Team, Ozaukee County Emergency Management, Belgium and Port Washington fire departments, Belgium Department of Public Works and the Ozaukee County Highway Department.