A Milwaukee man is facing a long list of felony charges after an April 1 high-speed chase on I-43 ended with a Milwaukee police squad car rolling over and two officers injured. Prosecutors also allege the same suspect is tied to a March 29 shooting that left a man with a shattered kneecap, leading to criminal complaints that stack drug and multiple fleeing counts on top of one another.
On April 6, prosecutors filed two criminal complaints charging 24-year-old Ashanti Travers Jr. with 10 counts stemming from the April 1 pursuit. The counts include fleeing or eluding an officer causing bodily harm, fleeing causing property damage, three counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, possession with intent to deliver more than 1,000 grams of THC, two counts of felony bail jumping and obstructing an officer as a repeater. Investigators say Travers threw a duffel bag out during the chase that contained about 1,103 grams of marijuana, a digital scale and cash. If convicted on all counts, prosecutors say he faces more than 90 years in prison and over $200,000 in fines, according to FOX6 News.
How the Pursuit Unfolded
Milwaukee police say officers first spotted a black Nissan Rogue near Teutonia and Congress on April 1 and tried to pull it over. Instead of stopping, the driver allegedly hit the gas and led officers on a roughly 13-minute chase that topped 110 mph, according to the department’s summary of events.
Officers eventually deployed stop sticks and brought the vehicle to a halt near 6th and Concordia. During the pursuit, one squad car collided with another vehicle and rolled onto its side. Two officers were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Spectrum News reported.
Evidence and the March 29 Shooting
Prosecutors say the black Nissan Rogue was not just a getaway car in a wild freeway chase. Surveillance footage and rental car records allegedly tie the same vehicle to a March 29 shooting near 82nd and Brown Deer Road, where a man was hit in the knee and needed surgery…