Suspect arrested following pursuit

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BROOKINGS – A Lake Preston man was arrested after a pursuit that stretched through two counties and onto frozen lake ice Tuesday night, according to the Brookings County Sheriff’s Office.

Ryan Christopher Nesseim, 31, of Lake Preston, was arrested on suspicion of felony aggravated eluding, reckless driving and several other traffic offenses. He is currently being held at the Brookings County Detention Center awaiting bond, Assistant Sheriff Scott Sebring said Wednesday morning.

The pursuit started about 8 p.m. Tuesday, when a Brookings County deputy was assisting a Kingsbury County deputy who was looking for a suspect involved in a theft from a gas station in Kingsbury County, Sebring said.

The suspect was driving a blue Ford F250, which was found near 208th Street on 455th Avenue in Brookings County. 

“The Brookings County deputy located and attempted to stop the vehicle, which fled from the scene. The vehicle sped westbound at speeds in excess of 70 mph,” Sebring said.

The vehicle entered Kingsbury County and went through a field, then went back on a roadway and then onto Lake Preston. 

“Law enforcement did not pursue the suspect vehicle onto the lake,” Sebring said.

The vehicle was not seen leaving the lake by the Kingsbury County deputy. The Kingsbury County Sheriff’s Office requested the Brookings County Sheriff’s Office bring its utility-terrain vehicle back to patrol the shoreline of Lake Preston.

The suspect vehicle was then located by the Brookings County deputy on the UTV, Sebring said. 

“The suspect vehicle found a way off of the lake and went back onto 207th Street, where the Kingsbury County Sheriff’s Office and South Dakota Highway Patrol pursued the vehicle.

“The vehicle entered another unidentified lake,” Sebring said.

Nesseim was later located and taken into custody at a rural Lake Preston residence.