Darby Costello
WEST ALLIS, Wis. - A 52-year-old Fox Point man is accused of leading police on a miles-long police chase before hitting stop sticks and being arrested. The accused is Darby Costello – and he faces the following criminal counts:
- Second-degree recklessly endangering safety
- Operating a motor vehicle to flee or in an attempt to elude an officer
- Felony bail jumping (four counts)
According to the criminal complaint, a West Allis police officer was on patrol early Sunday, Nov. 24 -- and was informed of a FLOCK alert for a vehicle being driven by Darby Costello, the defendant, "who had multiple felony warrants for his arrest," the complaint says.
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The officer located the vehicle as it was driving south on S. 63rd Street crossing W. Lincoln Avenue. The officer then positioned his squad behind the defendant's vehicle and activated his lights and siren. The complaint says the "defendant did not pull over, but did continue to drive at regular speeds. The defendant then turned south onto S. 68th Street and began to accelerate, reaching a speed of 90 miles per hour," the complaint says.
The West Allis officer chased the defendant "as he accelerated and ran several red lights," court filings say. During the police chase, "the defendant turned to go southbound in the northbound lanes of Highway 36. While going the wrong way on Highway 36, (the officer) could see a pair of oncoming lights that had to move out of the way as the defendant's vehicle was speeding against oncoming traffic," the complaint says.
A Racine County sheriff's deputy was able to successfully deploy stop sticks -- and the West Allis officer "performed a PIT (Pursuit Intervention Technique) maneuver, which spun the defendant out, with his car coming to a stop," the complaint says. The defendant was then taken into custody. Court filings note the total pursuit length was more than 17 miles -- and reached speeds in excess of 115 miles per hour.
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According to the criminal complaint, the defendant stated the following while being arrested: "It was fun, right? I'm gonna get charged with 200 years of (expletive), might as well have some fun with it, huh?"
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Costello made his initial appearance in Milwaukee County court on Wednesday, Nov. 27. Cash bond was set at $50,000.