Charges: Woman Led Authorities On Chase With Drugs, Alcohol In Car
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 26-year-old St. Paul woman is accused of leading authorities in a pursuit Sunday while having drugs and alcohol in her vehicle and not wearing a seat belt, according to charges filed in Hennepin County Court.
Shyla Marriah Elizabeth Johnson was charged with fleeing police in a motor vehicle in connection with the incident.
According to the charges, state troopers were on patrol just before 3 p.m. Sunday on Interstate 94 just south of Lowry Avenue North when they spotted Johnson driving in a construction zone without wearing a seat belt. Her front windshield was also cracked, and when the trooper tried to pull her over, Johnson continued driving.
The complaint states she was driving 60 miles per hour in a 50 mile per hour zone. A chase ensued and officers tried to box Johnson in near 49th Avenue. She swerved around the squad cars in the construction area, driving more than 80 miles per hour in the 50 zone. Johnson eventually was slowed by traffic in the area of Highway 252 and 66th Ave. North, when state troopers performed a PIT maneuver on her vehicle.
Johnson got away and did an illegal U-turn, swerved in and out of traffic and state troopers eventually stopped her after a successful PIT maneuver near I-694 and Brooklyn Boulevard. Johnson's car spun around and crashed into a ditch before she was taken into custody.
The complaint states Johnson fled authorities for more than seven miles. When officers searched her car, they found about .6 grams of marijuana along with a marijuana pipe and an open bottle of alcohol. A preliminary breath test at the scene showed she didn't have any alcohol in her system.
Johnson was booked into the Hennepin County Jail and if convicted, faces more than three years in jail and a $5,000 fine.
