Monroe County couple that led car chase accused of throwing drugs, ramming police cars
A couple that led multiple law enforcement agencies on a high-speed chase through the St. Louis region Monday has been accused of ramming police cars and throwing drugs out the window.
The chase began in Columbia and went though Dupo, where a FOX 2 helicopter captured its path though St. Louis and into Franklin County, Missouri, where they eventually crashed and were arrested.
The names of the suspects have not been released pending charges. In a news release, Monroe County Sheriff Neal Rohlfing said the two face charges of aggravated fleeing or eluding.
Rohlfing said that the chase started at 3:14 p.m. when members of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department’s Aggressive Criminal Enforcement Unit observed a car driving northbound on Illinois 3 at EE Road near the YMCA in Columbia. When police ran the license plates through the record system, they concluded the plates did not match the registered vehicle.
Sheriff’s deputies attempted to make a traffic stop but the driver did not comply, Rohlfing said. At the time of the attempted traffic stop, a woman was driving the car. The man took the wheel during the course of the chase, police said.
During the pursuit, Rohlfing said the couple threw objects, which police suspect were narcotics, out of the car windows. The couple also rammed a Monroe County Sheriff’s Department vehicle.
The couple also attempted to ram several other squad cars from numerous police agencies during the pursuit and struck at least one other squad car, Rohlfing said.
After a pursuit that lasted more than an hour, the driver crashed the suspect car and the couple was taken into custody in Union, Missouri, about 50 miles southwest of St. Louis.
“The Monroe County Sheriff’s Department will release more detailed information regarding this incident after the investigation is completed and all facts are presented to our Monroe County States Attorney’s Office for consideration of charges,” Rohlfing said.
This story was originally published June 30, 2020 at 12:56 PM with the headline "Monroe County couple that led car chase accused of throwing drugs, ramming police cars."
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