Matthew Keski

IRONWOOD — Matthew Keski, the man who led Gogebic County Sheriff’s Department, Ironwood Public Safety and Michigan State Police on a car and foot chase in June, was sentenced on Dec. 17.

Keski was sentenced on two of the eight felonies he was originally charged with. In November, he pled no contest to one count of unlawfully driving away and one count of malicious destruction of personal property valjued $1,000 or more but less than $20,000. The other six charges were dismissed, so in total Keski was sentenced to two years of probation and must pay $8,341 in restitution, for damages.

According to a press release from the director of public safety in Ironwood, Andrew DiGiorgio, just before noon on June 2 Keski was reported as stealing a car from a gas station.

When a deputy from the Gogebic County Sheriff’s Department spotted Keski, he rammed into the deputy’s cruiser before taking off, police said.

The cruiser was damaged and could not pursue Keski. Within a few minutes, an officer from Ironwood Public Safety spotted Keski as he sped into the city of Ironwood.

When he entered the city, a Michigan State Police trooper saw Keski slam into another vehicle, disabling his own and badly damaging the other.

Keski then fled on foot before attempting to steal another vehicle, but Ironwood Public Safety disabled it before he was able to flee again.

Keski again fled on foot and ran onto a four-lane highway, and after multiple warnings, was tased. There were no injuries to anybody other than the suspect, DiGiorgio said.