CLEAR LAKE – A Belmond man who refused to stop for a state trooper and crashed his car during the ensuing pursuit has pled guilty and will go to prison.
The Iowa State Patrol filed charges of eluding, speeding at least 25 miles per hour over the limit, driving while barred, driving on wrong side of a highway, failure to obey a stop sign, and improper use of a median against 23-year-old Robert Dale Summers of Belmond. The patrol alleges that Summers fled from a state trooper at speeds in excess of 90 miles an hour up to 100 miles per an hour on the afternoon of September 23 as he drove west on the Avenue of the Saints from Mason City toward Clear Lake. Only after spike strips were deployed on the highway did he finally stop, but not before he tried to drive east after crossing the median. His vehicle also allegedly made contact with a semitrailer, causing damage.
Summers, a laborer who claims to work in Kanawha, was eventually booked into the county jail on $20,000 cash-only bond on these charges. Just a few days prior to this incident, Summers pled guilty to theft in Fort Dodge and was ordered to pay $620.00 in fines and court fees.
After a brief not guilty plea, Summers changed his plea to guilty. He was sentenced to 2 years in prison. A $625 fine was suspended.
Summers is still facing charges in Wright county from that same day of operating a vehicle without the owner’s consent, domestic abuse, fourth degree criminal mischief, willful injury, and first degree harassment. He will be arraigned on October 30 on those charges.
