Man arrested after high-speed chase
Photo 
Erik Johnson
ELKHORN — A Lake Geneva man faces kidnapping, recklessly endangering safety and traffic charges after police say he led them on a high-speed chase through Lake Geneva, fled after wrecking his vehicle and forced an elderly man to drive him away.
According to a news release from the Walworth County Sheriff's Office:
A Walworth County sheriff's deputy at 1:07 a.m. Tuesday tried to stop a sport-utility vehicle speeding at more than 100 mph on Highway 50 near Dummers Road west of the Lake Geneva, but the driver sped away into Lake Geneva.
The driver—who police say was Erik A. Johnson, 33, of 3273 Lockwood Blvd., Lake Geneva—eventually stopped at a traffic signal at Highway 50 and Wells Street. The deputy again attempted to stop the vehicle, but Johnson again fled, continuing into the Hillmoor Heights subdivision off Highway 50 in Lyons Township.
The driver lost control of the fleeing vehicle and it rolled. The driver was ejected and fled on foot.
Investigators determined the driver lived in the subdivision, and sheriff's deputies and Lake Geneva police officers went to the home where Johnson was believed to have lived. While they interviewed Johnson's father, Johnson called his father's home from a nearby residence that police suspect Johnson broke into. Johnson then forced the elderly man who owns the home he broke into to get into the man's car and drive Johnson out of the subdivision.
Lake Geneva police stopped the vehicle on Highway 50 at Curtis Street, and Johnson was taken into custody.
Johnson faces 16 criminal and traffic charges including kidnapping, recklessly endangering safety, fleeing an officer and resisting arrest. He is being held at the Walworth County Jail on a $50,000 cash bond.
Mar 4, 2009 at 10:49 p.m.
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And we here in these wonderful United States do indeed "defend" criminals.
Every citizen, even / especially criminals, are afforded the right to a fair and expedient trial. Criminals are presumed INNOCENT until PROVEN guilty. Convicted criminals are housed in pretty comfortable jails, all things considered (not out in the hot sun or in the cold winter; have a place to sleep at night; have food to eat; ...). Despite what our baser instincts may wish, police and jailers are not allowed to harm criminals. Criminals who have repaid their debt to society are allowed to return to and rejoin society. Shall I continue?
Mar 4, 2009 at 10:43 p.m.
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"Right" of safety??? I do not think the word "right" means what you think it means.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stat...
Mar 4, 2009 at 8:07 p.m.
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johnson... BWAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
OK... there's a face only a mother could love...
What gets in to these people pulling idiotic stunts until they lose all freedom to exist? Is it lack of attention as a child? Was there a big old bully in grade school that pushed the wrong buttons?
It seems to be everywhere... the level of anger with this generation... I don't get it!
Mar 4, 2009 at 6:27 p.m.
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The right of safety? I don't know which amendment that falls under. The second maybe, but that one acknowledges our right to be able to defend ourselves.
Mar 4, 2009 at 6:18 p.m.
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What's a GD?
Mar 4, 2009 at 6:13 p.m.
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Ok. OBVIOUSLY there is something wrong with this situation. This is the United States of America. We DO NOT defend criminals. Look at your amendments. Im pretty sure that THE RIGHT OF SAFETY is in there. So next time you try to defend a criminal... think before you speak. Think of all the people who could have been seriously hurt. What if that man would have crashed into somebody? The police are 100% right in trying to stop this man and i stand by their decision all the way. If they just let him go by something worse could have happened. Biggirl should think about this. What if that man hit a member of your family? What if you and somebody you loved were harmed by his actions? Im just trying to say I think he got what was expected. Do the crime... pay the time. I know somebody who was seriously hurt by a criminal disobeying traffic laws. That is somebody i love and i know what its like to lose a loved one. GO POLICE FORCE! THANKYOU!
Mar 4, 2009 at 4:21 p.m.
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biggirl is an example of someone that obviously has had her own issues with the law because every chance she gets, she bashes the living crap out of them.
Mar 4, 2009 at 1:47 p.m.
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biggirl is an example of everything that is wrong with this world.
Mar 4, 2009 at 11:45 a.m.
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As far as I'm concerned the whole theory of protecting criminals against "police pursuit" situations is complete crap. Common sense should tell anyone (even a fool) that innocent people don't RUN from the law.
Mar 4, 2009 at 11:32 a.m.
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Biggirl-how about speeding at over 100mph? The distance from where he was spotted to where it ended is probably between 2 and 3 miles. At that time of the morning (1:07am) there probably wasn't anybody out there. So the police are responsible for everybody's actions out there? Under your logic, the police were supposed to watch the guy go by and do nothing?
Mar 4, 2009 at 10:59 a.m.
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biggirl-Your logic on most of these posts is ridiculous. What are police supposed to do, allow everyone who runs a get out of jail card? There was minimal traffic and pedestrians. He was probably all over the road and a risk. Obviously he is a criminal and now they can deal with him. I also heard he was a GD at Wilson school.
Mar 4, 2009 at 10:18 a.m.
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CCAP - Public Record has a few things to say about his recent criminal career. Not sure I'd draw a conclusion on that alone but if I was him, I'd try to make a better effort at life.
Mar 4, 2009 at 10:02 a.m.
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I want to know what the other criminal charges are that aren't even mentioned in this article. Traffic charges are one thing, but knowing the severity of the criminal charges is important. It's hard to form an educated opinion when you don't really know the level of his criminal activity. Logically, how do we know whether or not this guy should be fried in the electric chair or just sitting in jail paying fines? It's not easy to tell from what little info the article is providing. I don't think the "kidnapping" charge should be blamed on the fact that he did it because he was being "pursued" by the police. For all we know the "other" criminal charges may have involved kidnapping too, WITHOUT police involvement. There's just not enough info here.
Mar 4, 2009 at 9:08 a.m.
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Hey, what was the original charge? I thought that police were regularly questioning such high-speed chases because they endanger the public. They are supposed to balance the danger of the suspect against the community welfare. Without knowing what he was originally accused of, we cannot evaluate whether this was a prudent chase. I suspect not. In fact, the old man wouldn't have been kidnapped except for the police action.
Mar 4, 2009 at 9:04 a.m.
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A couple of french fries short of a happy meal...
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