(La Porte County, IN) - A Union Mills man ended up nearly drowning following a bizarre police chase.

 

On Thursday afternoon a La Porte County Sheriff’s deputy pulled over a GMC SUV on U.S. 20 near Michigan City. Police quickly realized that the driver, 30-year-old Jacob A. Gilmore, was wanted for two previous charges, Invasion of Privacy and Domestic Battery.

 

Before an officer could question him, Gilmore took off, heading south on County Line Road. He led police on a chase of over 26 miles across La Porte County to a rural area just south of La Crosse along Horseshoe Bend Road, also known as Millers Lane. The SUV left the roadway and plunged into an offshoot of the Kankakee River.

 

Police say for a time Gilmore remained in the partially submerged SUV, refusing to get out, even at one point lighting up a glass pipe. When he was done with his smoke, Gilmore apparently decided to go for a swim, entering the stream’s murky waters. Three officers went in after him after Gilmore disappeared under the water and did not resurface. According to reports, Deputy Austin Wells rescued Gilmore and brought him to shore, where the suspect was revived. Police say even after the ordeal, Gilmore again tried to run.

 

He was booked on four felonies, including Resisting Law Enforcement and Possession of Cocaine, and four misdemeanors, and is being held at the La Porte County Jail. According to court records, Gilmore has collected a multitude of charges in recent years, including Leaving the Scene of an Accident, Unlawful Carrying of a Firearm, Criminal Confinement, and Domestic Battery Against a Pregnant Woman, among others.