A Mauston Man Led Police On A High Speed Chase

On Tuesday, September 21^st, a Mauston police officer noticed a vehicle that failed to stop at a stop sign in the City of Mauston. The driver of the vehicle was Jeffery D. Uptain, a 32 year old Mauston Man. 

As the vehicle passed the officer, the rear registration plate appeared to be illegible and the rear-passenger side tail lamp was hanging . The vehicle  turned onto the I-90/94 eastbound on-ramp. The officer followed but Uptain ignored him and would not pullover, instead accelerating up to 84 miles per hour. It should be noted that there is a construction speed zone limit of 60 miles per hour on a portion of the highway.

Uptain tried to lose the officer by driving through a fence in the right-of-way toward County Highway N. At times of pursuit, the officer was only less than one vehicle length from Uptain and got a clear view of him. 

The officer contacted the Juneau County Sheriff’s Department for help in locating the vehicle to check for a crash.  Two deputies spotted Uptain walking while his vehicle was found at the Cemetery on Cemetery Road. 

When the officer responded to where the deputies were, he recognized Uptain immediately.  When asked where he was coming from, Uptain said  he was at a friend’s house. The officer wanted to go to the residence  which was just down the road and to the right. The officer noted this was the location of Uptain’s vehicle.

The vehicle was searched and a receipt with Uptain’s name on it was found and other identifying documents. The total distance of the pursuit was just over 4.81 miles.

Uptain has been charged with Operating While Revoked (Rev Due to Alc/Contr Sub) and a Vehicle Operator Fleeing/Eluding An Officer.