A 33-year-old man accused of leading Omaha police officers on a high-speed chase across the city had tried to run over officers, a prosecutor said Monday.
Jesse Fields of Omaha faces 10 charges, including four counts of attempted assault on an officer and theft by receiving. He was ordered held in jail on combined bail of $275,000.
Prosecutor Anthony Clowe said officers went to a U-Haul outlet at 90th and Maple Streets on Thursday to investigate a report of a theft in progress.
Officers tried to stop a U-Haul truck from being stolen by parking a cruiser behind it, but the driver revved the engine, rammed into the cruiser and almost struck an officer, the Police Department has said.
The driver sped toward another officer, who was able to get out of the way, officials said.
Officers began a pursuit but then called it off because the driver was veering into oncoming traffic and tried to hit another police cruiser head-on, police said.
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On Friday, an off-duty officer spotted the stolen U-Haul truck and an on-duty officer attempted to make a traffic stop near 93rd Street and West Dodge Road.
The driver sped away, according to a police report, and continued to disobey traffic signals, speed, swerve toward officers and go the wrong direction on streets.
Officers deployed stop sticks near 20th and Mason Streets. The truck’s driver’s-side tires hit the sticks, according to the report.
The driver crashed through the gate arm of the Omaha World-Herald Building parking garage at 14th and Douglas Streets about 10:40 p.m. Friday after a pursuit that lasted about 40 minutes.
Inside the garage, the driver got out of the truck and ran. A stream of officers followed and arrested Fields. In the truck, authorities said, officers found credit and debit cards belonging to five different people, a checkbook belonging to another person, three counterfeit $100 bills and marijuana.
“This pursuit was highly dangerous,” Clowe said. “It traversed most of the city.”
Fields had warrants out for his arrest in Douglas and Pottawattamie Counties. The Douglas County warrant related to failing to appear in court on a meth possession charge.
Fields served seven years in prison for forgery, burglary, theft and escape. He served an earlier two-year term on drug charges.