Northwest Indiana – Tuesday afternoon, detectives assigned to the Indiana State Police Lowell Post Criminal Investigations Bureau, along with members of the Indiana State Police SWAT Team, attempted to serve a high-risk felony arrest warrant on an individual residing in Lake County. The suspect had active warrants for numerous violent felony and misdemeanor charges in Lake County, Indiana.
Utilizing Flock and other investigative technology, troopers eventually located the suspect driving a 2018 Ford Taurus in the area of Calumet Avenue and Conkey Street in Hammond. When a traffic stop was initiated, the suspect fled, leading officers on a vehicle pursuit.
The suspect continued to flee at a high rate of speed through Hammond, ultimately crossing into Illinois. The pursuit concluded in Chicago when the suspect crashed at the intersection of 77th Street and East End Avenue. He was immediately taken into custody without further incident and later transported to the Cook County Jail by the Chicago Police Department. He is being held without bond pending an extradition hearing to be returned to Indiana.
The suspect, Austin Earl Williams, 37, of East Chicago, Indiana, had active warrants in four separate cases for the following offenses:
• Burglary Resulting in Bodily Injury – Level 3 Felony
• Robbery – Level 5 Felony
• Domestic Battery Resulting in Injury – Level 6 Felony (two counts from two separate cases)
• Strangulation – Level 6 Felony
• Criminal Confinement – Level 6 Felony
• Residential Entry – Level 6 Felony
• Resisting Law Enforcement with a Vehicle – Level 6 Felony
• Interference with Reporting of a Crime – Class A Misdemeanor
• Domestic Battery – Class A Misdemeanor
Additional felony charges will be sought as a result of the pursuit and related events this afternoon.
All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
