In the town of Windsor, California, a high-stakes car chase led to the arrest of two individuals in possession of stolen property yesterday evening. According to a Facebook post by the Town of Windsor Police, the chase began when a deputy noticed an expired registration tab on a gold sedan and attempted to initiate a traffic stop.
The sedan, driven by Jerome Labrice Brown, a 46-year-old Oakland resident with a companion, Chardonnay Vivian Jefferson, a 34-year-old Oakland resident, at first yielded in a hotel parking lot. However, as the deputy exited his patrol vehicle, the gold sedan suddenly sped off, beginning a dangerous pursuit onto southbound US 101.
During the chase, the driver of the gold sedan engaged in reckless driving, weaving between lanes at high speeds to evade capture. The deputy called for backup, and soon, additional officers joined the fray. They managed to swiftly deploy a spike strip southbound on US 101, successfully puncturing one of the sedan's tires.
Despite the damage, the suspects in the gold sedan managed to exit the freeway onto Steele Lane, pulling into a nearby gas station. It was there that the pursuing deputy made the decision to execute a Pursuit Intervention Technique (PIT) maneuver, forcing the gold sedan to stop.
Chardonnay Vivian Jefferson, the front passenger, made a daring attempt to quickly flee across multiple lanes of traffic. Deputies gave chase and promptly took Jefferson into custody in a nearby business parking lot. Jerome Labrice Brown, the driver of the gold sedan, was also apprehended.
A subsequent search of the vehicle led to a shocking discovery. Deputies found more than 50 unopened liquor bottles and an anti-theft magnetic detacher concealed in the car. The detacher is a tool commonly used to remove anti-theft alarms from expensive liquor bottles. A closer inspection revealed store ID stickers on the bottles, indicating that they were stocked at a Santa Rosa Safeway store.
The two suspects were subsequently booked into custody at the Sonoma County jail. Jerome Labrice Brown faces charges of felony evading a police officer with disregard for public safety, felony possession of stolen property, and misdemeanor reckless driving. His bail is set at $70,000.00. Meanwhile, Chardonnay Vivian Jefferson has been charged with felony possession of stolen property and misdemeanor obstructing/resisting a police officer. Furthermore, she is being held on an outstanding felony no-bail warrant from Napa County for grand theft.
