Jared Kline, 27, of St. Louis was charged with two felonies following a police chase through the west part of the Jefferson County. Kline allegedly was driving a stolen pickup during the chase, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office reported.
The pickup was stolen between March 26 and March 27 from an undisclosed location north of Old Hwy. 21 between Antonia and Imperial, Sheriff’s Office spokesman Grant Bissell said.
He said the pursuit started just before 9:30 a.m. April 1 in Cedar Hill.
“The chase went to Franklin County and came back to Jefferson County,” Bissell said.
The pursuit ended in Dittmer only after law enforcement used a spike strip to disable the vehicle’s tires, according to the probable-cause statement in the case.
Kline was driving the vehicle on Local Hillsboro Road near Graham Road in Cedar Hill when a deputy identified it as stolen and attempted to deploy a stop stick device. Kline swerved to avoid the device and allegedly continued fleeing from police, driving 10 to 20 miles per hour above the posted speed limit of 35 miles per hour on Graham Road, the report said.
The vehicle allegedly crossed the double-yellow line into oncoming traffic several times, and the pursuit continued to Cedar Hill Road, Hwy. BB and to Hwy. 30, according to the report.
The pursuit continued to Hwy. NN, where the deputy saw what looked like a passenger in the vehicle attempting to retrieve or conceal something. Near the intersection of Hwy. NN and Crestview Drive, the deputy reportedly saw Kline throw an item from the driver-side window, the report said.
The pursuit continued on Hwy. NN into Franklin County, at which time Franklin County deputies took up the chase. While in Franklin County, Kline allowed an undisclosed number of passengers out of the vehicle and then continued driving back to Jefferson County, according to the report.
The pickup eventually struck a spike strip and stopped near the 8500 block of Ridge Road in Dittmer. At that point, Kline allegedly exited the vehicle and ran away. However, he was located and arrested a short distance away while attempting to hide under a tarped camper near a building, according to the report said.
“By the time we got him, the vehicle was missing two tires,” Bissell said.
Kline was arrested for alleged possession of the stolen 1998 Dodge Ram and with resisting arrest, but not for the vehicle’s theft, authorities reported.
Kline was charged on April 2 with first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle, a class D felony punishable by up to seven years in prison, and resisting arrest, a class E felony punishable by up to four years in prison.
Kline was being held in the Jefferson County Jail as of today (April 20) on $25,000 cash-only bond.
Bissell said April 15 that investigation into the theft of the Dodge Ram and other aspects of the case is ongoing.