A Cedar Rapids man was charged early Sunday after a police pursuit in North Liberty.

According to a series of North Liberty police complaints, Colton Martin, 21, was observed by an officer to be exhibiting signs of intoxication at a Kum & Go station. The complaints said Martin had bloodshot eyes and poor balance. The officer observed Martin getting into the driver’s seat of a vehicle, according to the complaints.

The officer went to the parking lot to make contact with Martin, according to the complaint, and Martin allegedly left the lot through a do-not-enter sign and drove southbound on a northbound-only one-way street. The complaints said as the officer pursued with lights and sirens activated, Martin accelerated to an estimated 75 mph in a 45 mph zone. Martin allegedly pulled into a trucking company lot and turned off his lights, eventually running from his vehicle, according to the complaints.

The complaints said Martin was apprehended by the officer near the vehicle. Martin smelled strongly of ingested alcohol, according to the complaints. He initially refused breath tests, stating, “I’m obviously piss-ass drunk,” according to the complaint. He later consented to a breath test at the police station with a result of .157.

Martin is charged with eluding, a Class-D felony, and OWI, a serious misdemeanor.

— by Matt Starns