Brookfield Man Popped Tires in High-Speed Police Chase

A Brookfield man led police on a high speed chase in Town of Brookfield after threatening his ex-girlfriend, charges allege.

Ernesto J. Gonzalez, 37, was charged in Waukesha County Circuit Court Wednesday with attempting to flee an officer, disorderly conduct and obstructing an officer. If convicted, he faces up to 4 ½ years in prison and $21,000 in fines.

According to the criminal complaint:

Gonzalez' ex-girlfriend had obtained an order that Gonzalez could have no contact with her. But on Jan. 7 when she was at Shooter’s Pub and Grill in Sussex with her father, she saw Gonzalez inside.

Hours later — about 2:30 a.m. Jan. 8 — the woman and her father left Shooter's to go to a residence in the 21600 block of Mary Lynn Drive in Town of Brookfield. When they got out of their car, Gonzalez pulled up behind them and shouted threatening remarks, the complaint alleges.

The two called police, but Gonzalez fled before officers arrived. An officer spotted his car eastbound on Watertown Road and tried to stop him, but Gonzalez sped up and tried to flee.

While trying to negotiate a curve in the 700 block of Larry Court, Gonzalez spun out and came to a halt facing an officer’s squad car. But he backed up over a parking block and — with two flat tires — began to drive toward the squad, missing it by inches before cutting across a grassy area and speeding off, driving 71 miles per hour through a 35 miles per hour speed zone.

Officers pursued his car back to the neighborhood where the woman lives and eventually stopped his car on the lawn of a home. Gonzalez then fled on foot into a wooded area and police were unable to catch him.

After searching his car, officers found an open bottle of rum.

Gonzalez will make his first court appearance March 20.