‘Peace, love and happiness’ – but no tow truck payment – sparks Crook County chase, arrest
(Update: Adding jail booking photo)
PRINEVILLE, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A Colorado woman got stuck on a road shoulder south of Prineville early Wednesday morning, then refused to pay the tow truck driver who freed and jump-started her SUV, leading to a lengthy pursuit that ended in the use of spike strips, a "bean bag round" and pepper spray, police said.
The driver slowed, then stopped after spike strips deflated three tires and was arrested only after police shot out the back window with a bean bag round and used pepper spray to force her out of the car.
A Prineville officer responded around 4:25 a.m. to the area of Southeast Reservoir Road and Cascade Way to help a motorist whose 2005 Chevy SUV with Texas license plates was stuck on the road shoulder, partly blocking the eastbound lane, Sgt. James Peterson said.
A tow truck was dispatched to help pull the SUV out of the ditch and had to jump-start it as well, Peterson said. But the driver, who police identified as Letitia Denise Smith, 49, of Aurora, Colorado, refused to pay STAR Towing for the services and fled the scene, the sergeant said.
The tow truck driver said Smith had told him “peace, love and happiness” before she took off without paying, according to police Capt. Larry Seymour.
Officers pursued Smith who wouldn’t yield to flashing lights and sirens as she headed east on Reservoir Road at speeds ranging from 20-55 mph. She then got onto state Highway 27, first heading south, then turning north toward Prineville.
At one point, Smith allegedly started to turn right at a T intersection, but instead made a big loop and drover right at the officer, stopping a foot away from the patrol car, Seymour said. The officer put a spotlight on her and she backed up, then turned left at the intersection.
With early-morning road conditions clear and free of traffic or pedestrians, Smith kept driving several miles toward Prineville, where more officers and Crook County sheriff’s deputies were preparing to stop the pursuit with spike strips, Peterson said. ODOT also assisted by stopping southbound traffic onto Highway 27.
Prineville officers successfully deployed strike strips to deflate the left front tire, while sheriff’s deputies also deployed more to deflate both right side tires. That slowed the SUV, Peterson said, and the chase stopped in front of the county fairgrounds entrance on South Main Street (Highway 27).
Peterson said Smith did not comply with officers’ commands to get out of the SUV and “continued to reach around in the vehicle,” which had dark window tinting.
As a result, a shotgun that deploys bean bag rounds was used to break the rear window, the sergeant said. The driver still refused to get out, so OC (pepper) spray was deployed through the broken window, which prompted Smith to get out.
When taken into custody, Smith had more than $2,100 in cash in her possession.
Smith was booked into the county jail on charges of second-degree theft of services, attempt to elude, reckless endangering and two counts of second-degree criminal mischief. A jail sergeant said the bail totaled $65,000, but she was released on her own recognizance, for reasons he could not divulge.
A booking photo also was not taken at the time, but Smith returned for one to be taken on Thursday.
The SUV sustained considerable damage after Smith drove for several miles with deflated tires, causing the vehicle’s frame to drag on the pavement. There were no injuries, Peterson said, and damage was limited to Smith’s SUV, which was impounded as a road hazard, as it was blocking the northbound lane of South Main Street.
“This is another good example of how the Prineville Police Department and the Crook County Sheriff’s Office work together on many types of cases,” Peterson said in his news release. “We also want to say thanks to the Oregon Department of Transportation for their quick response and help.”
