Man held on $250,000 bond after chase in Lake County

A Chicago man’s bond was set at $250,000 on Saturday morning in Lake County following a manhunt in the Lake Zurich area Friday afternoon, officials said.

Jermaine Pugh, 26, of the 8000 block of Evans St., Chicago, was sought following a domestic battery complaint in Island Lake. That led to a police chase, a car crash and a foot chase, Lake Zurich Police Cmdr. David Bradstreet said.

Pugh was charged with manufacture/delivery of cocaine, possession of cocaine, aggravated fleeing and eluding of police, domestic battery, interference with domestic battery, driving with a revoked license, driving without insurance, leaving the scene, squealing tires and improper lane passing, a Lake County jail official said Saturday morning.

Police officers from several departments were involved in the search, which spread into North Barrington. A dog team and a helicopter were called in, too.

North Barrington Elementary School, which isn’t far away on Route 59, was locked down just before 3 p.m. as a precaution, District 220 spokesman Jeffrey Arnett said.

Although there were no students in school Friday, there were a number of staff members in the building when the Lake County Sheriff’s office ordered the safety step, Arnett said. Sheriff’s officials came to the school and escorted all staff members to their cars about 3:30 p.m.

“We’re just grateful there were not students in the building because all of that activity would have occurred right when students would be released for the day, which would have been very complicated,” Arnett said.

The incident started as a domestic disturbance in Island Lake, police said.

Police there were sent to an apartment complex on the 500 block of Burnett Road about 1:20 p.m. The suspect left before officers arrived, Island Lake Police Chief Don Bero said.

The victim refused medical treatment, he said.

Lake Zurich police spotted the Pugh’s car, a 2007 silver Nissan Maxima, on Rand Road near Miller Road about 1:50 p.m. When he was confronted by a Lake Zurich police officer at a gas station on the corner of Rand and Miller roads, he fled in his car. Pugh drove through the median, then drove the car into property at Rand Road and Honey Lake Road, before continuing west on Honey Lake Road, where crashed the car at Honey Lake Road and Beech Street.

He then fled the area on foot and was pursued by police officers from Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods, Island Lake and the Lake County Sheriff’s office. He was caught on Route 59 at Miller Road in North Barrington, with the assistance of the Lake County Air-One helicopter.

The case is still under investigation, Lake Zurich police said. Pugh remains in custody at the Lake Zurich police station.

Ÿ Daily Herald staff writers Melissa Silverberg, Mick Zawislak, Steve Zalusky and Elena Ferrarin contributed to this report.