LACROSSE, Wis. – Police captured a man who had escaped police custody in Prairie du Chien, but it was, literally, a struggle. The man resisted and even tried to
seize one officer’s handgun before he could be subdued. Arrested was Paul Germundson, 26, of Lynxville. The afternoon before he had fled a Prairie du Chien hospital. He had been in the Prairie du Chien jail, but police took him to the hospital for a suspected medical relapse. He ran out and stole a car. This was in the afternoon. In LaCrosse, 60 miles away, a night clerk at a budget hotel on the North End tipped police that Germundson had checked in. Knowing what had happened in Prairie du ne, LaCrosse police set up a perimeter around the hotel and then spotted Germundson about a block away on foot. Officers said he gave them a false name and date of birth. When they tried to take him into custody, he fought back. After he was cuffed, officers said they found a cigarette pack that contained heroin. Later at the jailhouse, according to police, Germundson said he had contacted his girlfriend to pick him up in Stoddard, where he had crashed the car stolen in Prairie du Chien, and asked her to take him to La Crosse. He threw away his orange jail suit en route and changed clothes. Also along the way, he said, they stopped to pick up heroin.
Charges
Germundson was booked in LaCrosse on charges of possessing narcotics, resisting arrest, and attempting to disarm a police officer. Bail was set at $10,000. Other charges remain active in in Crawford and Vernon counties.
Arrest
Near Motel 6 at 2150 Rose Street. in LaCrosse.