High-speed chase ends at LCVFD when vehicle runs out of gas

Chantel Drake, 31, of West Plains, is facing a class D felony charge of tampering with a motor vehicle in connection with a Feb. 1 incident in which she reportedly stole a vehicle from Howell County and engaged in a high-speed pursuit with Baxter County, Arkansas, and Ozark County sheriff’s deputies. 

Drake was arrested Feb. 3 and held on a $3,500 cash-only bond. She was arraigned and had a bond reduction hearing Tuesday before Associate Circuit Judge Raymond Gross. A criminal setting is scheduled for March 9.

If convicted of the class D felony charge, Drake could face up to four years in prison.

According to the probable cause statement filed by Ozark County Sheriff’s Deputy Cecilia Schofield, an Ozark County dispatcher informed Schofield, along with Deputies Steven Ator and Seth Miller, of a Baxter County high-speed pursuit of a white Chevrolet Tahoe that was heading north on Arkansas Highway 201 and was expected to cross over into Ozark County onto Missouri Highway J. 

When the pursuit crossed state lines, the Ozark County deputies assisted with the pursuit, which ended near the Lick Creek Valley Fire Department when the Tahoe reportedly ran out of gas. Baxter County officers took Drake into custody, and the Ozark County deputies transported her to the Ozark County Jail. 

The owner of the stolen Tahoe was notified, and the vehicle was towed to a convenience store in Gainesville, where it was released to the owner.