SANDPOINT — A preliminary hearing is set for a Kelso Lake man accused of leading law enforcement on a high-speed chase while possessing methamphetamine.

Todd Allen Bruno is free on $20,000 bail while the case is pending. He is charged with felony eluding and meth possession in connection with a pursuit in southern Bonner County on March 17.

At the time of the incident, Bruno was being sought for arrest in connection with an undercover narcotics operation by authorities in Kootenai County in which a “large” amount of meth was exchanged. Bruno escaped arrest in the Feb. 9.

A plainclothes detective with the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office spotted Bruno in a Cadillac Escalade headed eastbound on Kelso Lake Road and followed the sport utility vehicle from a distance. Bruno, a probable cause affidavit said, made a sweeping U-turn and made contact with the detective through an open window in the SUV. The detective noted that Bruno looked familiar, prompting Bruno to declare that the detective did not know who he was. The detective disagreed.

The detective began following Bruno and used his vehicle’s front bumper to execute a Precision Immobilization Technique to force the SUV to stop. However, the SUV was immune to the PIT maneuver due to its size.

The fleeing SUV reached speeds of 60 mph as it sped toward U.S. Highway 95 on Granite Loop Road. The affidavit alleges Bruno crossed the highway without regard for oncoming traffic. The SUV was found abandoned about 2 miles later. It held a plastic baggy with a substance that field-tested positive for meth. There was also a note in the vehicle stating that its owners had loaned the SUV to Bruno for a period of time.

Bruno, 49, eluded capture, but was served with an arrest warrant on April 1 at the Bonner County Jail. It’s not clear in court records if Bruno was apprehended or if he turned himself in to be arrested.

A preliminary hearing in the case is set for May 25. The state is seeking a persistent violator enhancement because Bruno has prior convictions in Kootenai County for felony drug possession and delivery of a controlled substance.

Bruno is awaiting a preliminary hearing on drug trafficking and eluding Kootenai County on Feb. 9, according to the Idaho Supreme Court Data Repository.