A high-speed chase from Joshua Tree to Morongo Valley Friday night resulted in the arrest of a 20-year-old Marine from Ohio. According to the California Highway Patrol, just before 11 p.m. Friday, Officer Casey Simmons attempted to stop a blue 2006 Yamaha R6 sports bike on Highway 62 near Sunburst Street in Joshua Tree for speeding in a 45 mile-per-hour zone. The motorcycle rider, later identified as Jeremiah Armstrong, a corporal with 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, sped off, accelerating to over 80 miles per hour through Joshua Tree. Armstrong, pursued by Simmons, Officer Ryan Swanson, and Sergeant Turner, sped through Yucca Valley, running red lights with his speed reaching 130 miles per hour, in an attempt to elude officers. As Armstrong drove down the Yucca Grade, his motorcycle began to blow out thick white smoke. Armstrong eventually stopped on the Morongo Grade, just west of Hess Bouelvard, where he surrendered to CHP officers without incident. Jeremiah Armstrong was arrested for investigation of felony evading, booked into the Morongo Basin Jail, and released Monday after his arraignment on $100,000 bail. His next court appearance is Wednesday.
