Antigo Man Accused of Stealing Several Vehicles and Leading a Four-County Chase Crashes in Merrill Before Deputies Arrest Him After a Foot Pursuit
LINCOLN COUNTY, WI — A 44-year-old Antigo man was arrested after sheriff’s officials say he stole multiple vehicles, led law enforcement on a chase across several northern Wisconsin counties and crashed in Merrill before running from deputies.
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said the sequence began Thursday morning, Oct. 8, after deputies were told about a stolen vehicle connected to a high-speed pursuit in Shawano, Menominee and Langlade counties. The suspect was later tracked through additional vehicle thefts, a cash theft in Minocqua and a final pursuit that ended when officers used a pursuit intervention technique to stop him.
Deputies first tracked a stolen vehicle tied to earlier pursuits
According to the sheriff’s office, the suspect had already been involved in a fast-moving chase earlier in the day in Shawano, Menominee and Langlade counties. Authorities said he abandoned one stolen vehicle and then took another, which was believed to be heading toward Lincoln County on State Highway 64 from Antigo.
Deputies said the man was known to be from Antigo and had warrants for his arrest. Law enforcement monitored the area, including Flock Safety alerts, to see whether the vehicle entered Lincoln County. At that point, deputies did not find the vehicle in the county, and it was later discovered abandoned in the northwest part of Langlade County.
The suspect allegedly stole another vehicle and cash in Minocqua
After the abandoned vehicle was found in Langlade County, deputies said the suspect stole yet another vehicle. Later that morning, Lincoln County authorities learned he had entered Minocqua and taken about $1,000 in cash from a separate vehicle.
The new vehicle information was entered into Flock Safety, which later generated an alert when the vehicle was seen heading southbound into Lincoln County. Deputies said the suspect entered the county on U.S. Highway 51 from U.S. Highway 8 and was spotted near Irma, where officers tried to stop him. Instead of pulling over, authorities say he kept going and triggered another chase.
Spike strips slowed the car before the final crash in Merrill
The second Lincoln County pursuit continued south until it reached County Highway K north of Merrill, where a Merrill Police Department officer deployed spike strips and deflated two tires. Even after that, deputies said, the vehicle kept moving into the city and along several streets before turning onto E. Main Street.
There, the suspect vehicle hit an innocent driver’s vehicle. A deputy then used a pursuit intervention technique, commonly called a PIT maneuver, to stop the car. After the vehicle was disabled, the driver ran but was caught after a short foot pursuit.
Innocent driver suffered minor injuries and deputy needed surgery
Authorities said the other driver involved in the E. Main Street crash had minor injuries and declined medical treatment at the scene. The sheriff’s office also said one deputy suffered a significant hand injury that required surgery.
Merrill police assisted during the pursuit and are handling the crash reports involving the innocent motorist and the sheriff’s office squad car. The sheriff’s office did not publicly describe any additional injuries connected to the chase, but the crash left both agencies dealing with the aftermath of the final stop.
Joshua Micke faces felony and misdemeanor charges in Lincoln County
Police identified the man arrested as Joshua Micke of Antigo. He was booked into the Lincoln County Jail on multiple charges, including felony fleeing or eluding an officer causing bodily harm, felony operating a vehicle without the owner’s consent and felony resisting or obstructing an officer causing substantial bodily harm.
He also faces felony first-degree recklessly endangering safety, felony hit-and-run causing injury, misdemeanor operating after revocation related to OWI, and misdemeanor causing bodily harm by reckless driving. Deputies said Micke also had a Langlade County warrant and a Department of Corrections probation or parole warrant when he was taken into custody.
