Man wanted for escape in Fayette County leads Mount Vernon police on chase

MOUNT VERNON - Mount Vernon police were involved in a chase Sunday morning involving a man wanted for escaping a residential facility.

According to the Mount Vernon Police Department, officers pulled over a black Chevrolet Silverado truck in the 700 block of 10th Avenue SW around 2 a.m. Sunday. Police said as an officer was speaking with the driver - later identified as Tyler J. Kelly, 20, of West Union - Kelly put the truck in reverse and rammed the squad car parked behind him.

Police said Kelly smashed into the squad car two more times before fleeing in the truck and Mount Vernon officers initiated a chase. The pursuit went east on Highway 30, then south on Highway 1 to Cedar River Road, police said. Kelly then went west on Highway 30 in the eastbound lanes of traffic, before making a U-turn and heading east on Highway 30 though Lisbon to Charles Avenue. Kelly then took gravel roads into Mechanicsville, where officers lost sight of him, police said.

Police said they contacted the Fayette County Sheriff's Office and requested they make contact with the registered owner of the truck. That's when police learned the truck had been reported stolen on June 29 and Fayette County authorities believed Kelly was driving the stolen truck.

The Silverado was discovered in Clarence by the Clarence Police Department around 3:16 a.m., but Kelly was not located. More than eight hours later, around 11:45 a.m., Mount Vernon police learned Kelly had been taken into custody by Clarence Police, the Cedar County Sheriff's Office and Iowa Department of Natural Resources at a residence in Clarence. He was arrested without incident, authorities said.

Kelly faces charges of assault on a police officer with intent to inflict serious injury, a Class D felony; eluding, a Class D felony; theft of a motor vehicle, a Class D felony; second-degree criminal mischief, a Class D felony; driving while barred, an aggravated misdemeanor; and speeding.

l Comments: (319) 398-8238; lee.hermiston@thegazette.com