Man in stolen vehicle leads authorities on chase

Driver arrested after breaking into building

A Birnamwood man who allegedly led authorities on a chase in a stolen vehicle before crashing it and fleeing on foot Thursday night was charged with multiple felony counts Friday in Shawano-Menominee County Court.

Quintin J. Armbrust, 27, was arrested a short time later after allegedly breaking into a building in the town of Washington and arming himself with a compound bow and arrow, according to the criminal complaint.

According to reports from the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department, the vehicle involved in the incident had been reported stolen on U.S. Highway 45 in Birnamwood around 6:30 p.m. It was described as a truck with a snow plow attached.

Just before 9 p.m., the vehicle passed a sheriff’s squad at high speed in a no-passing zone on state Highway 22 near state Highway 117 in Cecil, according to the criminal complaint.

The deputy on patrol tried to pull the vehicle over, but it failed to stop and a pursuit ensued that covered 6.4 miles, according to the sheriff’s department.

The vehicle went through a stop sign and crashed in a wooded area. The driver fled on foot.

A passenger in the vehicle, a 24-year-old Shawano man, was arrested on a charge of intentionally being a passenger in a stolen vehicle.

He was taken into custody without incident at the scene of the crash and transported to ThedaCare Medical Center for treatment.

The passenger told authorities that Armbrust had stolen the vehicle and was possibly high on meth, according to the complaint.

The Shawano County K-9 unit assisted in tracking the driver through the wooded area.

Meanwhile, the owners of a home on County Road R in the town of Richmond called the sheriff’s department to report that someone had apparently broken into their residence and was possibly in the basement.

Authorities cleared the basement but did not find anyone. However, tracks that went back into woods were followed, eventually leading to the Cecil-Washington Conservation Club at N6939 County Road R, where a building on the property appeared to have been broken into, according to the complaint.

Armbrust subsequently appeared in the doorway of the building and surrendered, the complaint states.

However, he resisted and fought with two deputies while being taken handcuffed, according to the complaint, and made threats against one of the deputies.

Armbrust is facing multiple felony charges, including two counts of armed burglary, each of which carries a maximum possible penalty of 15 years in prison and a $40,000 fine.

He is also charged with felony counts of operating a vehicle without the owner’s consent, fleeing an officer and battery or threat against a law enforcement officer,as well as misdemeanor counts of theft, resisting an officer, disorderly conduct, damage to property and criminal trespass.

Armbrust was ordered held on a $10,000 cash bond and is scheduled for an adjourned initial court appearance Feb. 11.