Trial set for man accused of leading police on car chase

The trial has been set for a Wyoming man accused of leading law enforcement officers on a two-state car chase that ended near Sidney.

Joseph Mladenik, 40, of Cheyenne, Wyo., is scheduled to appear Dec. 14-15 in Cheyenne County District Court for a jury trial.

He is facing four felony charges: three counts of possessing a firearm while committing a felony and operating a motor vehicle to avoid arrest.

Mladenik is represented by Sidney attorney Steven Elmshaeuser and has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

In September, the Kimball County Sheriff's Office and the Kimball Police Department picked up the pursuit of a vehicle travelling east on Interstate 80 as it entered Nebraska, according to a media release issued by the Nebraska State Patrol last fall. The NSP then took over the chase near Potter.

The Wyoming State Patrol had been pursuing the vehicle, but discontinued at the state line.

Nebraska State Troopers ultimately deployed two sets of "stop sticks," which flattened the vehicle's tires.

"The vehicle went into the median on I-80 just west of Sidney, crossed the westbound lanes and ended up in the ditch on the north side of the interstate," according to the release.

The driver was arrested and identified as Mladenik, the release states.