A Florissant man and woman were arrested this morning (March 7) in High Ridge after allegedly leading law enforcement officers on a multi-county, high-speed chase in a stolen pickup. The chase began about 6 a.m. in Franklin County and ended about an hour later near the Northwest Branch of the Jefferson County Library, 5680 Hwy. PP, authorities reported.
The man, 37, who allegedly was driving the stolen silver 1997 Ford F-150, was arrested at about 7:10 a.m. in a subdivision on High Ridge Heights after abandoning the pickup and fleeing on foot. The woman, 38, was arrested at about 7:20 a.m. in a wooded area behind the library near High Ridge Boulevard and Hwy. PP, said Capt. Gary Higginbotham of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
Higginbotham said the Sheriff’s Office will seek charges against the two for second-degree tampering and resisting arrest. Franklin County Sheriff Steve Pelton said his department will seek charges against the man for assault on a law enforcement officer, leaving the scene of an accident, property damage and resisting arrest.
The pursuit began when a Franklin County Sheriff’s Office deputy was sent to Shannon Lane in Robertsville to check on a suspicious vehicle parked along the road. When the deputy approached the pickup, it appeared the man and woman were sleeping inside it, Pelton said.
Then, when the man spotted the deputy approaching, the suspect allegedly drove away, sideswiping the deputy’s patrol car. The deputy, who was not injured, was able to avoid being hit by the pickup as the suspect fled, Pelton said.
The deputy pursued the pickup but lost sight of it on Hwy. 66 near the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center, 18701 Hwy. 66, in Pacific. However, an off-duty St. Louis County Police officer spotted the pickup on Hwy. 109, and then a KMOV news helicopter spotted it at about 6:40 a.m. traveling east on I-44 and getting off the interstate at Antire Road, authorities reported.
The pickup weaved between lanes on Antire Road traveling into Jefferson County, before the man and woman reportedly jumped out of the rolling vehicle at the intersection of Hwy. PP and High Ridge Boulevard. The pickup, which was reported stolen out of Creve Coeur on Jan. 27, rolled into a ditch, Higginbotham said.
The man reportedly darted towards the woods behind the library, but the TV helicopter was able to track him as he tried to flee and relayed the information to law enforcement. At one point, the man appeared to confront a motorist who slowed down for him. The man eventually made his way to High Ridge Heights, where he took off his brown coat, put his hands in the air and lay on the road as a deputy handcuffed him without further incident, news footage showed.
The man already was wanted on an outstanding warrant for first-degree tampering related to another stolen vehicle. That warrant was issued in February, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office reported.