Mesa Woman, 50, Crashes and Exits Car With Beer After Fleeing Police, Violating Order

A 50-year-old Mesa woman is facing a stack of felony and misdemeanor charges after police say she twice drove past the home of someone protected by a court order against her, then led officers on a chase that ended when she spun out and stepped from her car still holding a can of beer. Officers responded to reports of the order of protection violation near 54th Street and Arcadia Avenue just before 9 p.m. last Monday.

According to the Mesa Police Department, the order of protection had been served on Regina Baswell earlier that same day and barred her from being near the victim's residence. As reported by FOX 10 Phoenix, the victim told officers Baswell had been at his residence, appeared intoxicated, and left in a white vehicle with her dog. Police say Baswell then drove past the victim's home a second time while an officer was still speaking with him at the scene.

When officers attempted to stop her vehicle, police say Baswell failed to stop and instead fled, prompting the pursuit that ended in the crash. Mesa police video reportedly showed Baswell losing control of her vehicle and spinning out before finally coming to a stop. Officers say she then exited the vehicle holding a can of beer.

A Long List of Charges

Baswell was booked on unlawful flight from a law enforcement vehicle, a charge that under Arizona Revised Statute § 28-622.01 is classified as a Class 5 felony carrying penalties ranging from probation to two years in prison for a first offense, according to the Arizona criminal defense resource AZ Defenders. She also faces three separate counts of interfering with judicial proceedings, a Class 1 misdemeanor under A.R.S. § 13-2810 that can carry up to six months in jail and $2,500 in fines per count, per the Salwin Law Group.

Police also booked Baswell for exceeding the posted speed limit by more than 20 miles per hour, which under A.R.S. § 28-701.02 is treated as a Class 3 criminal misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail rather than a routine civil ticket, according to the law firm Feldman Royle Ahl. Additional bookings included criminal damage greater than $1,000, reckless driving, and driving on a suspended or revoked license. Criminal damage exceeding that dollar threshold escalates from a misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony under A.R.S. § 13-1602, per the Salwin Law Group.

Open Beer Can Adds Another Charge

Arizona law also treats an open container of alcohol inside a vehicle's passenger compartment as its own offense. Under A.R.S. § 4-251, possessing an open container of spirituous liquor in a car on a public roadway is a Class 2 misdemeanor punishable by up to four months in jail, according to the Tamou Law Group, providing the statutory backdrop for the beer can officers say Baswell was holding when she got out of her wrecked car.

Mesa police have not said whether Baswell will face additional formal DUI charges pending any chemical test results, and the department has not detailed what relationship, if any, existed between Baswell and the alleged victim. The department's policy manual mandates that anyone arrested for violating an order of protection or for a domestic violence offense be physically booked and jailed rather than released on a citation, which explains why Baswell was taken into custody rather than cited and released.

Part of a Statewide Push on Reckless Driving

The incident comes amid a broader state effort to crack down on the kind of driving behavior Mesa police allege in this case. The Arizona Department of Public Safety launched Arrive Alive Arizona on June 29, a five-year statewide initiative targeting reckless driving, high-speed violations, and impaired driving following elevated crash rates. State transportation officials have noted that roughly 90 percent of Arizona traffic collisions stem from preventable driver choices.

Arizona recorded 121,107 total motor vehicle crashes and 1,228 traffic fatalities statewide in 2024, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation, with speeding and driver impairment among the leading contributing factors cited by officials. Mesa's Air Support Unit, which flies MD 530FF helicopters equipped with forward-looking infrared cameras and maintains an average response time of 54 seconds across the city's 130-square-mile service area, is among the resources local police can call on during pursuits like the one that ended in Baswell's crash.

Hoodline has previously covered similar patterns of reckless driving and open-container violations tied to fleeing traffic stops in the Phoenix area, including a case involving an underage driver who taunted a trooper on I-17 earlier this month. Mesa police have not released further updates on Baswell's case beyond the initial statement.