Kenosha County police chase; IL men charged after 'ramming squad'

PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. - Two Illinois men are charged with leading Pleasant Prairie police on a chase in a stolen vehicle – and then ramming one of the Pleasant Prairie squads. The accused are 22-year-old Shawn Sawko Jr. from North Chicago and 25-year-old Markeece Muhammad from Zion.

According to the criminal complaint, on Saturday, Feb. 24 at approximately 9:47 p.m. an officer received a notification from Flock camera systems alerts that a possible stolen vehicle was traveling north on Lewis, which turns onto 39th Avenue in Wisconsin, near Highway 173 in Zion, Illinois. Flock cameras showed the vehicle to possibly have displayed an Illinois registration of BH70753.

The officer responded to the area of 39th Avenue and 104th Street in the Village of Pleasant Prairie when he observed a blue Chevrolet Traverse with a partial Illinois registration of BH70 pass him traveling northbound. The officer notified dispatch and caught up with the vehicle, and confirmed the registration was Illinois registration BH70753.

The officer observed the vehicle stop to yield to traffic at the roundabout on 39th Avenue and then observed another officer's squad enter the roundabout. The officer attempted a boxing-in maneuver while a sergeant positioned himself behind the stolen vehicle. 

According to the complaint, the stolen vehicle began reversing towards and then rammed into the front of an officer's squad car before fleeing northbound on 39th Avenue. The squad car was disabled due to the collision. The other officer continued pursuing the stolen vehicle. 

The stolen vehicle continued northbound, traveling between 70–90 mph through the intersections of 39th Avenue and 89th Street, 39th Avenue and 85th Street, 39th Avenue and 80th Street, and 39th Avenue and 75th Street, traveling at times in the southbound lanes of traffic. The officer lost sight of the vehicle near 68th Street and terminated the pursuit at that time. 

A witness called and advised the vehicle partially pulled into a driveway near 39th Avenue and 69th Street and two men ran. When police arrived at the scene, they located a silver firearm with a black grip, later determined to be a Lorcin .380 special, lying on the sidewalk near the stolen vehicle with a magazine inserted into the firearm. A black ski mask was directly next to the firearm.

"If they were out for a joy ride, then what's the handgun and ski mask for?" asked Capt. Paul Marik of the Pleasant Prairie Police Department. 

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Officers deployed a drone and a K-9 to assist in locating the men. Shawn Sawko Jr. and Markeece Muhammad were located and taken into custody. 

"Comfortable with the way things ended, nobody got hurt. and at the end of the day, property is just property," Marik said. 

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With Muhammad, police found an Illinois driver’s license, two cash app Visa debt cards, an American Express card and to additional bank cards that didn't belong to him. 

Dashcam footage was able to identify Muhammad as the operator of the vehicle and Sawko was the front seat passenger.

The two men now face the following charges: 

• Operating a Stolen Vehicle
• Criminal Damage to Property
• Carrying a Concealed Weapon
• Possession of a Firearm by a Felon
• 1st Degree Recklessly Endangering Safety
• Fleeing/Eluding
• Hit & Run Causing Injury
• Resisting/Obstructing an Officer

Both men made their initial appearances in Kenosha County court on Monday, Feb. 26. Muhammad's bond was set at $15,000. Sawko's bond was set at $5,000.