Motorcyclist led trooper on Bettendorf chase, police allege

A 28-year-old Omaha motorcyclist was in custody Sunday after Iowa State Patrol officers allege he led a trooper on a high-speed chase in Bettendorf.

Nathaniel Lee faces a charge of felony eluding – speeding over 25 mph over the limit, court records show.

Shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday, a trooper saw a group of motorcycles traveling west on River Drive (Highway 67) from Sixth Street in Bettendorf, arrest affidavits show.

In a fully marked ISP cruiser, the trooper caught up to the group and noticed three of the four did not have rear plates displayed, the trooper alleges. The trooper tried to initiate a traffic stop, activating the cruiser’s emergency lights, but the group failed to stop, The trooper turned on the cruiser’s emergency siren “and the dirt bike in the group accelerated and began to actively elude me,” the trooper alleges in affidavits.

After a short pursuit, “I was unable to safely continue the pursuit with the dirt bike,” the trooper writes in affidavits.

While looking for the dirt bike, the trooper relocated another motorcycle – a 2005 Kawasaki from the group that did not have a registration tag – traveling west on River Drive (Highway 67) and the Arsenal Bridge, affidavits show. “When (Lee) saw me he accelerated, turned off his lights and pulled into an alley. I safely caught up to the motorcycle and activated my emergency lights and sirens. The motorcycle failed to come to a stop,” the trooper alleges in affidavits.

In affidavits, the trooper alleges that a pursuit ensued, with the driver (Lee) accelerating to speeds in excess of 80 mph while in a posted 35 mph zone.

“During the pursuit I witnessed multiple traffic infractions including speeding in excess of 25 mph over (the limit), failing to obey traffic control devices, improper lane changes, fail(ure) to display registration plate, and reckless driving,” the trooper alleges in affidavits.

The pursuit ended when Lee made it to the base of the Interstate 74 Bridge and saw multiple Bettendorf Police cruisers with lights on at the start of the on-ramp. Police say in affidavits that Lee was taken into custody “without issue.”

Lee claimed to have no knowledge of the identities of the other drivers in the group of motorcycles or the dirt bike that took off. The investigation is ongoing, affidavits say.

Lee, who is being held on a $5,000 cash-only bond in Scott County Jail, is set for a preliminary hearing July 25 in Scott County Court.