ALTON – An Alton man accused of fleeing from police over the Clark Bridge and a St. Louis man who evaded pursuit face felony charges in separate Madison County cases.
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Michael D. Bass, 39, of Alton, was charged on Nov. 13, 2025, with one count each of aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a peace officer and driving while license is revoked, both Class 4 felonies.
Bass allegedly drove a Honda CR-V upon the Clark Bridge in Alton while his license had been revoked on Sept. 24, 2025. He is additionally accused of knowingly failing to obey and attempting to flee and elude an Alton Police officer on the same day after the officer had given him an audible or visual signal to stop his vehicle, with his attempted flight exceeding 21 mph above the area’s legal speed limit.
Charging documents note Bass had previously been convicted of driving on a revoked license on three prior occasions, including twice in Madison County in 2010 and 2015 and again in Montgomery County, Ill., in 2019. In each of these cases, Bass’s license had been revoked for a prior offense of driving under the influence.
In a separate but similar case, 31-year-old Billy J. Jacobs of St. Louis was charged on Nov. 10, 2025 with a Class 4 felony count of aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a peace officer
According to a petition to deny his pretrial release from custody, filed by the Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office, Jacobs reportedly took the vehicle from his ex-girlfriend’s residence before using it to flee from officers.
“Alton PD located the vehicle and defendant fled, disregarding multiple traffic control devices, passing vehicles on the shoulder and nearly striking a motorcycle rider,” the petition states. “Defendant fled at over 60 mph in a 25 mph zone and officers terminated pursuit for public safety.”
The petition concludes by adding Jacobs is “a danger to the community and a flight risk.”
The Alton Police Department presented both cases against Bass and Jacobs. Bass was granted pretrial release from custody, while Jacobs was remanded to jail for his initial appearance in court.
All individuals charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
