A Mendota man is being held in the La Salle County Jail after allegedly tossing about 1 kilogram – or 2.2 pounds – of cocaine out his car window as he sped away from police, who caught him and then seized more cocaine at his home.

The Tri-County Drug Enforcement Narcotics Team found the package that 50-year-old Ruemy Duarte Castaneda allegedly ejected after a midday pursuit Tuesday on Interstate 39 – and then they found more purported cocaine after executing a search warrant at his residence.

TRI-DENT said Duarte Castaneda was taken into custody after a traffic stop at 12:10 p.m. on I-39 south of Tonica. TRI-DENT agents assisted by the La Salle and Putnam county K-9 units were at the scene when Duarte Castenada fled the scene in his vehicle at a high rate of speed, police said in a news release.

“Agents attempted to catch up to the vehicle, at which time Duarte Castenada was observed throwing a kilo of purported cocaine from the window of the vehicle,” police said.

The pursuit continued until Duarte Castenada struck a semitrailer, causing minor damage to the front passenger side of his vehicle and ultimately disabling it, police said.

Duarte Castenada then fled on foot into a wooded area near the Route 71 exit, police said. Drug agents and assisting agencies quickly established a perimeter, and Duarte Castenada was found and taken into custody without further incident.

After Duarte Castenada’s arrest, a search warrant was executed at his residence in Mendota. A search of the residence resulted in the recovery of about 144 grams – or 5 ounces – of purported cocaine.

Duarte Castenada was taken to the La Salle County Jail on two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver, both Class X felonies.

The charges are preliminary, but based on the amount of cocaine found, drug agents project sentencing ranges of 15 to 60 years for the ejected 2.2 pounds and nine to 40 years for the 5 ounces seized in Mendota.

A detention hearing is pending in La Salle County Circuit Court.