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A police call in St. Robert late Sunday night led to a high-speed police pursuit spanning four counties and involving over a half dozen law enforcement agencies, including the Rolla Police Department.
After the chase, Kiera Monae Williams, 24, and Tierra Land, 24, both of St. Louis, were charged with two counts of felony stealing and one count of felony resisting arrest in Pulaski County.
“It started with a simple shoplifting call,” St. Robert Police Maj. Doug Cooley said.
Cooley and other officers would soon learn there would be nothing simple about the call.
When officers spotted a red Chevrolet HHR containing the two women believed to have stolen alcohol from the St. Robert Kum and Go and Shell gas stations, they attempted to pull the car over. They soon realized the driver had no intention of stopping.
According to police and radio traffic from the event, the driver of the HHR decided to merge onto Interstate 44 and head east.
Cooley said St. Robert police chose to stop chasing the car at mile marker 164, but a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper spotted the car just west of Rolla’s city limits.
The pursuit picked up again, this time including help from Rolla Police Sgt. Tim Mayfield.
Mayfield was soon joined by PCSD officers and St. James police.
According to radio traffic from the incident, the chase reached speeds of around 115 miles per hour.
When the car crossed the county line, Crawford County Sheriff’s Department deputies also joined the chase, eventually spiking the tires of the HHR, ending the pursuit just after reaching the Franklin County line at mile marker 225.
Mayfield had chosen to exit the pursuit near mile marker 217, the Leasburg area.
“He looked at his gas gauge and realized he was about out, and there were other officers that were with the vehicle,” RPD Chief Mark Kearse said.
The officers with the car when it was stopped arrested two women from the St. Louis area, and confiscated the HHR and its contents for evidence.
“It looked like they went on a shoplifting crime spree, and they just came to the wrong town with the wrong officers, and we got them,” Cooley said.
According to Cooley, the car — a rental from Illinois — was filled with merchandise believed to be stolen from areas across the state.
According to court documents, the women are accused of stealing more than $1,200 in alcohol from the St. Robert convenience stores alone.
A police call in St. Robert late Sunday night led to a high-speed police pursuit spanning four counties and involving over a half dozen law enforcement agencies, including the Rolla Police Department.
After the chase, Kiera Monae Williams, 24, and Tierra Land, 24, both of St. Louis, were charged with two counts of felony stealing and one count of felony resisting arrest in Pulaski County.
“It started with a simple shoplifting call,” St. Robert Police Maj. Doug Cooley said.
Cooley and other officers would soon learn there would be nothing simple about the call.
When officers spotted a red Chevrolet HHR containing the two women believed to have stolen alcohol from the St. Robert Kum and Go and Shell gas stations, they attempted to pull the car over. They soon realized the driver had no intention of stopping.
According to police and radio traffic from the event, the driver of the HHR decided to merge onto Interstate 44 and head east.
Cooley said St. Robert police chose to stop chasing the car at mile marker 164, but a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper spotted the car just west of Rolla’s city limits.
The pursuit picked up again, this time including help from Rolla Police Sgt. Tim Mayfield.
Mayfield was soon joined by PCSD officers and St. James police.
According to radio traffic from the incident, the chase reached speeds of around 115 miles per hour.
When the car crossed the county line, Crawford County Sheriff’s Department deputies also joined the chase, eventually spiking the tires of the HHR, ending the pursuit just after reaching the Franklin County line at mile marker 225.
Mayfield had chosen to exit the pursuit near mile marker 217, the Leasburg area.
“He looked at his gas gauge and realized he was about out, and there were other officers that were with the vehicle,” RPD Chief Mark Kearse said.
The officers with the car when it was stopped arrested two women from the St. Louis area, and confiscated the HHR and its contents for evidence.
“It looked like they went on a shoplifting crime spree, and they just came to the wrong town with the wrong officers, and we got them,” Cooley said.
According to Cooley, the car — a rental from Illinois — was filled with merchandise believed to be stolen from areas across the state.
According to court documents, the women are accused of stealing more than $1,200 in alcohol from the St. Robert convenience stores alone.
“The problem is, I have a bunch of unclaimed items from stores, possibly from the Illinois area, possibly from Fairview Heights, and that is as much as I can determine right now,” Cooley said.
While the origin of much of the property is still unknown, the detective work done by St. Robert officers was enough for Pulaski County Prosecutor Kevin Hillman to file three felonies against each of the two women found in the car at the end of the pursuit.
Both women were transported to the Pulaski County Jail following the pursuit where they are each being held in lieu of $25,000 bond.
Additional charges may be filed in the three other counties — Phelps, Crawford and Franklin — where the pursuit traveled through.
