Dustin S. Fernow, 34, of House Springs has been charged with 23 felonies after leading police on a chase Sept. 2 that began inside the Arnold city limits and ended on Hwy. 141 near Ridgewood Middle School between Arnold and Fenton, where the suspect was involved in a three-vehicle accident that left two Arnold women seriously hurt, authorities reported.
Shortly before that accident, Fernow allegedly struck a patrol vehicle, and Arnold Police Officer Douglas W. Bequette, 54, of Arnold, who was inside the vehicle sustained a minor injury. He was treated at the scene and was able to return to work, Arnold Police Capt. Rich Shular said.
On Sept. 3, Fernow was charged with nine counts of first-degree assault, each one a class A felony; two counts of second-degree assault on a special victim because of the ages of the victims, each one a class B felony; one count of resisting arrest and one count of first-degree property damage, both class E felonies; and 10 counts of armed criminal action, all unclassified felonies, court documents show.
Each of the class A felonies is punishable by 10 to 30 years or life in prison. The class B felonies each carry a penalty of five to 15 years in prison. The class E felonies are each punishable by four years in prison, and the unclassified armed criminal action charges are each punishable by at least three years in prison for a first offense and up to 10 years in prison if the person is convicted of three or more armed criminal action offenses.
Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Trisha Stefanski said Fernow is a persistent offender and was being held today (Sept. 6) without bond in the Jefferson County Jail.
When Fernow allegedly led police on the chase Sept. 2, he was out on bond after being charged with felony possession of a controlled substance stemming from an April 8 incident when the Missouri State Highway Patrol arrested him in Jefferson County.
In addition, the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged him on Feb. 28 for misdemeanor stealing connected to a July 2019 incident in Jefferson County and for misdemeanor leaving the scene of an accident stemming from a June 2019 incident in De Soto Police, according to court records.
Fernow previously pleaded guilty to a felony second-degree burglary charge in June 2007 in Washington County and was sentenced to seven years in prison, but the sentence was initially suspended and he was placed on five years’ probation. However, Fernow failed to pay restitution and his seven-year sentence was executed, according to court records.
He also was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to felony stealing of a motor vehicle tied to a March 2012 incident in Washington County, court documents show.
The Sept. 2 police pursuit began just before 8 p.m. at the Circle K gas station, 2046 Key West Drive, in Arnold, where Bequette and his partner spotted a 2008 Nissan Altima with no license plates. When the officers pulled into the gas station lot, Fernow quickly got into the Altima and allegedly drove away at a high rate of speed, Arnold Police reported.
The officers, who were in a 2020 Chevrolet Tahoe, pursued the Altima onto Hwy. 141. While on the highway, the police SUV pulled alongside the car so the officers could identify the driver. While the patrol vehicle was driving next to the car, Fernow allegedly swerved at the SUV, forcing the officers’ vehicle into a median. The officers got back on the highway and continued the pursuit, which led to Ridgewood School Road, the report said.
Fernow reportedly turned into the Ridgewood Middle School parking lot, 1401 Ridgewood School Road. Other officers arrived at that school, and Fernow allegedly continued to flee from officers on the lot, swerving at some police vehicles during the pursuit, according to the report.
In the meantime, Bequette and his partner parked at the entrance of the school, and Bequette’s partner was laying down a spike strip when Fernow drove towards the entrance. The Altima hit the side of the police SUV that Bequette was in, and then Fernow drove over the spike strip while on Ridgewood School Road and headed towards Hwy. 141, the report said.
As Fernow tried to cross the highway, a 2012 Toyota Camry hit the left side of the Altima, which then hit a 2011 GMC Terrain head-on, the Highway Patrol reported.
Deborah L. Thompson, 59, of Arnold was driving the Camry, and Carroll Politte, 78, of Arnold was a passenger in the Camry. Alexander D. Nikolic, 57, of De Soto was driving the Terrain, the highway patrol report said.
No injuries were reported for Nikolic. However, Fernow was moderately injured, and Thompson and Politte were seriously injured. All three were transported by Rock Township Ambulance to Mercy Hospital South in south St. Louis County, the highway patrol reported.
On Sept. 3, Politte was listed in critical condition, and Thompson was in satisfactory condition, but the hospital had no information about Fernow’s condition, a Mercy South spokesman said.
Fernow was not wearing a seat belt, but Thompson, Politte and Nikolic were wearing seat belts, the patrol reported.
The Altima and the Camry were totaled, and the Terrain was moderately damaged, the report said.
Shular said the estimate for the damage to the patrol SUV was $4,000.