Jordan Casey Young is once again in custody after a nearly deadly encounter with a pair of bounty hunters. He had been approached by the pair of bounty hunters who were seeking him for skipping bail in Polk County.
In the ensuing scuffle Young was shot at. Though details of the altercation are still not well established, police do know that the bullet missed Young and struck his car. He was hit with pepper spray before escaping and fleeing west toward Interstate 35 on Grand Avenue, where the police saw him and pursued him toward the Raccoon River, near South 50th Street and Commerce Drive. When he noticed the police were pursuing him he stopped his car and dove into the river.
West Des Moines Police spokesperson Sergeant Ken O’Brian reports that Young was ordered out of the river by the police. He at first refused, but soon came toward shore where the police used a flotation device and a rope to rescue him. The river is presently at the top of its banks and moving swiftly.
Young was taken to the hospital where he was treated for the pepper spray. The Iowa-licensed bounty hunters, whose identities have not been released, are being investigated to make sure their use of deadly force was within legal guidelines. Because they are not police officers they have to adhere to the public’s rules of not shooting unless their lives are in danger.
The 27 year old suspect had been wanted in Polk County on weapons, theft, and drug charges, and had missed a pretrial hearing earlier this month. Missing the pretrial hearing is what brought him to the attention of the bounty hunters in the first place.