Baxter man arrested after pursuit in Newton neighborhood

A 29-year-old Baxter man was arrested March 20 after allegedly not pulling over his vehicle in a traffic stop and leading police in a chase that ended with him crashing into a house and fleeing on foot before being detained by officers, who later found a glass pipe in the backseat of a patrol car where the man was held.

Dustin R. Bestell was charged with eluding, interference with official acts, driving while license suspended, reckless driving and possession of drug paraphernalia.

At about 11:41 p.m., Bestell was observed traveling westbound through the intersection of Iowa Speedway Drive and First Avenue East, police reports say. An officer noticed the light turned orange and saw Bestell accelerate through the intersection rather than yielding. The officer tried to initiate a traffic stop.

However, police say Bestell failed to yield to the traffic stop and continued on for about another four minutes weaving through a residential neighborhood. The pursuit ended when Bestell drove through someone’s backyard and crashed into the house, where he fled on foot. The police followed and ordered him to stop.

Police noticed Bestell — who was described as slim and looked to be about 6 feet tall — was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with multi-color graphics. Officers lost sight of the man as he ran. Later, a resident in the neighborhood spotted Bestell on his property, but he had removed his sweat shirt.

Eventually the sweatshirt was found abandoned on the same property where Bestell was found by police. Officers later found out Bestell’s driving status was suspended for failure to pay an Iowa fine.

While Newton police officers were finishing up their investigation, Bestell was detained in the back of a Jasper County deputy patrol vehicle. When it was time for authorities to transfer him to a Newton police vehicle, the deputy located a glass pipe in the backseat where Bestell was sitting.

Officers say the pipe was not there prior to Bestell being in the vehicle. Police allege the pipe had burnt residue inside of it consistent with drug use. Bestell is currently being held in Jasper County Jail.

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com