Man leads ISP troopers on high speed chase through Idaho Falls
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IDAHO FALLS — Idaho State Police say a man driving dangerously fast led a trooper on a high-speed chase through a portion of Idaho Falls.
It began Thursday around 7:30 a.m. when witnesses called dispatchers about a car swerving all over Interstate 15 near Idaho Falls. A trooper spotted the car, driven by a man later identified as Dean Martin, 46, pass him while driving around 100 miles per hour, according to court documents.
The trooper tried to catch up with Martin, but the silver Acura did not slow down until it reached other cars about a mile from exit 118 at Broadway Street in Idaho Falls. Despite the trooper flashing his red and blue lights, the driver did not stop and took the exit.
The trooper drove 60 miles per hour east on Broadway as the distance between him and Martin grew. The pursuit continued but after running a red light at Capital Avenue and Pancherri Drive, ISP lost sight of the car on 17th Street.
As the trooper kept driving on 17th Street, he spotted the Accura had pulled off on a service road that ran along the canal at Holmes Avenue.
The driver’s door was open, so the trooper pulled up behind the vehicle
“Martin immediately exited the vehicle keeping his right hand behind his back,” the trooper writes in the probable cause statement. “Martin briskly walked towards me with his left hand waving for me to come to him.”
With his Taser out, the trooper closed the distance between him and Martin and told him to get on the ground. Martin then laid on the ground and an additional trooper came to help put the man into handcuffs.
As ISP walked him to a patrol car, Martin began saying the trooper set him up; the police are corrupt and unrelated comments. When asked why he drove so fast on I-15, Martin replied, “People were cutting me off.”
Martin was booked into the Bonneville County Jail and charged with felony eluding police and misdemeanor reckless driving.
Martin is not unfamiliar with local law enforcement in eastern Idaho. In 2020, Martin reportedly lit two cars on fire with at least one of them reported as stolen in Bingham County. Martin pleaded guilty to felony third-degree arson and was placed on six years of probation in April.
Although Martin is accused of new crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
A preliminary hearing for Martin is scheduled for Aug. 17 at the Bonneville County Courthouse.