Illinois police chase into Wisconsin, man committed to DHS

WAUKESHA, Wis. – A man accused of leading police on a lengthy chase through Waukesha County was found not guilty on Friday due to mental disease or defect.

Joseph Marino, 33, was charged with multiple felonies in the case. Court records show he was ordered to be committed to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services for 6 ½ years.

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Case details

The pursuit happened in December 2023 and ended in the town of Delafield. It began in Illinois before crossing the state line and stretching across Kenosha, Racine, Milwaukee and Waukesha counties.

The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department said the police chase started in Elgin, Illinois. The sheriff’s department said Illinois authorities notified them of a pursuit involving an armed carjacking suspect who was headed north on I-94 toward Wisconsin. Deputies spotted the car and picked up the chase at speeds in excess of 105 mph in Kenosha County.

Kenosha County deputies continued the chase into Racine and Milwaukee counties before terminating their involvement. Officials said Waukesha police were alerted around 2 p.m. about a car that was wanted in connection with an armed robbery in Milwaukee. 

A criminal complaint states Waukesha police spotted the car speeding and cutting through traffic on State Highway 164. Officers attempted a traffic stop, but the driver refused to pull over – at one point driving into oncoming traffic and nearly striking another vehicle. 

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Waukesha police, Wisconsin State Patrol troopers and Waukesha County sheriff’s deputies became involved in attempting to stop the driver. The complaint states the vehicle ran multiple stop signs and red lights as it sped away from law enforcement. Officers called off the pursuit after nearly two miles due to heavy vehicle and pedestrian traffic in the downtown Waukesha area. 

A second traffic stop was attempted near St. Paul and Barstow. The complaint states the driver continued to flee, reaching speeds as high as 100 mph. A pursuing officer struck a citizen’s vehicle during the chase, per the complaint, and the citizen was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

As the pursuit continued, the complaint states the fleeing driver stuck his hand out the window and a “powder-like material began spraying in the air.” The vehicle hit spike strips near Meadowbrook and Rolling Ridge – but kept going.

Eventually, the car went off road in an open area west of the Orthopaedic Associates of Wisconsin building in the town of Delafield. Officers used a PIT maneuver to stop the car, which was stopped in a marsh area. Four Waukesha police squad cars were damaged during the incident, and the complaint states an Illinois State Patrol squad was “slammed” into earlier in the day.

The suspect was revving his engine, which police said made it obvious to officers the suspect was continuing to attempt to flee. The suspect would not listen or surrender to law enforcement. A Waukesha police K-9 was eventually able to apprehend the suspect – now identified as Marino.

The complaint states Marino was taken to a hospital for treatment of a dog bite from the K-9. In his wallet, prosecutors said dollar bills had a white powdery substance that tested positive for cocaine. The pursuit stretched roughly 10 miles in Waukesha County, and police said several other vehicles were struck either by Marino as he fled or by authorities “attempting to catch up” with him.