DAVENPORT, Iowa -- A teenager accused of stealing a Jeep at gunpoint in Rock Island led police on a high-speed chase in Davenport.
Davenport police were called to help catch a black Jeep Compass as it traveled across the Centennial Bridge from Illinois into Iowa, shortly before 2 a.m. on Wednesday, June 19. According to an affidavit, officers with the Davenport Police Department saw the stolen Jeep headed eastbound in the 400 block of East Locust Street around 2:45 a.m. That's when a chase began.
Police said the Jeep fled from officers, reaching speeds of 90 mph in a 35 mph zone and at points driving into oncoming lanes of traffic.
The car chase ended after an officer with the Buffalo Police Department put out stop sticks, read the affidavit. The suspect, 18-year-old Antonio Raydell Harper pulled over near North Division Street and West High Street. Police said he was then spotted "jumping out of the driver's seat" and then took off on foot.
The Davenport teenager was arrested in the backyard of a home in that neighborhood, police said.
Harper was booked into the Scott County Jail and was charged with first-degree theft, reckless driving, eluding, and driving without a license out of Iowa. In Illinois Harper is facing charges of vehicular hijacking and aggravated robbery.
