Police Find Man Hiding in Bathroom after He Takes 2-Year-Old-Child, Child's Mother With on Police Chase

WAUWATOSA -- A 22-year-old Milwaukee man faces prison time after police say he crashed his vehicle with his two-year-old child and the child's mother inside following a police chase where he drove up to 85 miles per hour through Wauwatosa.

When they stopped the man, he told police he "just wanted to get back to his own county," after he missed a Milwaukee County court date for a prior misdemeanor offense.

Police say Jacob Payton has been charged with fleeing or eluding an officer and second degree recklessly endangering safety and could face up to 13-and-a-half years in prison if he is convicted.

According to Payton's criminal complaint, a Wauwatosa police officer identified a fraudulent temporarly license plate on Payton's vehicle on June 29 near the 6500 block of West Center Street.

As the officer began following Payton's vehicle, police say he made a sudden turn and led police on a 1.3 mile car chase through Wauwatosa reaching speeds of up to 85 miles per hour with his two-year-old child and the child's mother inside.

Police terminated the pursuit out of safety of other motorists and pedestrians in the area, according to the complaint.

As soon as the officer terminated the pursuit of the Pontiac, he observed smoke from about two blocks away and responded to see if it was the Pontiac that he had been chasing.

When they arrived on-scene, they saw that Payton's vehicle crashed into a stop light so hard that the stop light was ripped from the ground and sent across the intersection. The Pontiac was still on scene with a great deal of front end damage, and no one remained in the Pontiac at the time the officer arrived, police said.

According to Payton's criminal complaint, officers found his identification cards in the car, which led them to his residence, where they found him hiding in the bathroom.

He is currently being held in the Milwaukee County Jail on a $5,000 cash bond.