OK, so there WAS a police chase
Why am I obsessed with this one? Because it's Missouri, I was born and raised here, and I don't like people giving it a bad name. Once I saw that these people had listed an address in Columbia, I started doing some digging there.
Anyway, I found an interesting article in the Columbia Tribune. There WAS a police chase on Friday, 4/18. The car that was being chased DID hit another vehicle. However, that's where the similarities end.
I don't know if Tracey was the female driver that was described. However, if so she was treated and released. No mention of the car being full of reptiles (which CERTAINLY would have been news worthy). I'm also wondering why they were on their way to UPS at 8:39 p.m.
What I'm saying is that I think a quick read about this incident might in the morning paper on Saturday or Monday might have just given them the idea to use the story. How cynical am I?
Anyway, here's the story. You can check it out yourselves at
www.columbiatribune.com I am cutting and pasting 2 articles, one from Saturday, 4/19 and one from Monday, 4/21. Draw your own conclusions.
Here is the link to the 4/19 picture:
http://archive.columbiatribune.com/2003/Apr/20030419News002.asp
Columbia police officers last night examine one of two cars involved in a collision about 8:45 p.m. yesterday at Spring Valley Road and Broadway after a pursuit that reached speeds of 70 mph on Pershing Road. The crash closed a stretch of Broadway for more than an hour. Columbia police Sgt. Ken Hammond said the incident began as officers tried to stop a car with four men inside after someone reported individuals with a gun at Columbia Mall. The suspects’ car crashed into another vehicle. One vehicle came to rest in the front yard of a home on the southeast corner of Spring Valley and Broadway. All the vehicle’s occupants fled. Police captured two suspects last night, and two others remained at large late last night. Police did not find a firearm but did find a bag of crack cocaine at the scene. Hammond said police arrested Marcus Brown, the driver who led police on the chase, on suspicion of narcotics trafficking, felony leaving the scene, felony fleeing in a motor vehicle, misdemeanor resisting arrest, second-degree property damage and other traffic violations. The woman driving the other car was taken to University Hospital, where she was treated and released.
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By JUSTIN WILLETT of the Tribune’s staff
Published Monday, April 21, 2003
The four men fled in different directions when the Buick LeSabre they were in crashed into a car at the intersection of Broadway, Pershing Road and Spring Valley Road after a high-speed chase with police Friday night.
Two of the men were apprehended at the scene; one was arrested and the other admitted to University Hospital.
The other two men, however, might never be identified because their cohorts have not cooperated with police.
The incident began at 8:39 p.m. Friday when Columbia police were sent to the parking lot of Barnes & Noble at the Columbia Mall to check out a report of people with a handgun loitering around a parked car.
According to Columbia police Sgt. Ken Hammond, when officers arrived, the four suspects got in the Buick and fled. Officers chased the Buick through west-central Columbia, at one time reaching 70 mph on Pershing.
When the suspects tried to pull onto Broadway, however, their car crashed into another car and came to a stop in a front yard at the southeast corner of Broadway and Spring Valley. The men ran away.
Police captured two suspects at the scene.
Officers found no firearm but did find a bag of crack cocaine.
The crash closed a stretch of Broadway for more than an hour.
The woman who was driving the other car was taken to University Hospital, where she was treated and released.
Local attorney Mitch Moore, who lives on Broadway almost directly across from the southern end of Pershing, said he wonders if the men were worth chasing.
"Who is the source of" the report of the gun?" Moore asked. "I could call and say you have a gun. I’m interested to know more about what prompted the police to engage in that sort of chase."
McCrary said officers have the discretion to initiate chases for any offense - even running a red light. He said officers must, however, notify their supervisors, who can end the pursuit at any time if they think it’s too dangerous.
Columbia police identified the driver of the Buick as 22-year-old Marcus Brown.
He was arrested on suspicion of narcotics trafficking, felony leaving the scene, felony fleeing in a motor vehicle, misdemeanor resisting arrest, second-degree property damage and other traffic violations.
A 20-year-old black man captured at the scene was admitted to University Hospital.
Police Capt. Moon McCrary said that if he were to be arrested, it would be after he is released from the hospital.
"The other two haven’t been caught," McCrary said. "Marcus Brown didn’t even tell" investigators "if anyone else was in the car. The only names we have are Marcus Brown’s and the passenger."
