Charges filed in high-speed chase; police say drugs found

Ste. Genevieve County’s prosecuting attorney charged a French Village, Missouri, man who led law-enforcement agencies on a chase Monday through Ste. Genevieve, Perry and Cape Girardeau counties with felony resisting arrest, possession of a controlled substance and two counts of tampering with physical evidence.

Joseph M. Boyle, 29, drove away in a 2006 Ford Fusion from Ste. Genevieve County sheriff’s Cpl. M. Bauer at Route Y and Jackson School Road because he faced an active parole and probation warrant, according to a probable-cause statement filed by Bauer.

Bauer wanted to ask Boyle and a female occupant in the vehicle whether they were fishing and whether they had a license, according to the statement.

Boyle evaded several “stop sticks” — spiked strips designed to flatten tires — laid down by Perryville, Perry County and Ste. Genevieve County officers while driving in excess of 100 mph until his tires were punctured by a “stop stick” near the 129 mile marker of Interstate 55, Bauer wrote.

Boyle turned onto Highway 51 and stopped on a grass curb in front of a Taco Bell in Perryville, according to the statement. Boyle ran but then complied with officers’ demands to lay on the ground, Bauer wrote.

After he was read his Miranda rights, Boyle said he resisted arrest not only because of the warrant, but because he had several firearms, a small amount of methamphetamine and syringes in the vehicle, Bauer wrote.

Boyle said he threw one firearm out of the vehicle on Interstate 55 and another as he fled on foot, according to the statement. Officers found a .40-caliber pistol near the vehicle but did not recover the other weapon after a search, Bauer wrote.

A search of the vehicle revealed several unused syringes and cotton swabs with a clear liquid residue that tested positive for methamphetamine, according to the statement.

Boyle’s bond was set at $50,000 cash or surety.

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address:

1303 S. Perryville Blvd., Perryville, Mo.