A 21-year-old St. Louis man is facing charges after police say he led officers on a chase through red lights, stop signs, and oncoming traffic with a 9-month-old baby riding unbuckled in the backseat. Shaheim Mims was pulled over only after officers deployed spike strips to stop his car, according to court records.
The pursuit began when police spotted a black car with no rear license plate and attempted a traffic stop by activating their sirens and lights, according to a probable cause statement cited by First Alert 4. Instead of stopping, Mims fled, according to police. Officers later discovered the car's registration had also expired, the probable cause statement says.
During the chase, Mims drove through traffic and onto the shoulder to avoid other vehicles, and continued past stop signs and stoplights while fleeing, according to the probable cause statement. At one point he blew through a red light and almost hit other cars at an intersection, the statement says. Even after officers deployed spike strips, Mims kept driving before he was finally stopped, per the report.
Baby Found Unbuckled in Back Seat
It was only during the pursuit that police discovered a 9-month-old baby was in the vehicle, according to the probable cause statement. The infant was found in an unbuckled car seat in the back of the car. Police said Mims fled from the attempted traffic stop with the child inside.
Missouri law requires drivers to properly secure children under 4 years old or under 40 pounds in a federally approved child safety seat, per the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Federal crash data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows correctly used child safety seats reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71 percent for infants under 1 year old in passenger car crashes, underscoring how dangerous an unbuckled infant's ride through evasive maneuvers can be.
Mims now faces one count of resisting arrest and one count of child endangerment, according to court records. Under Missouri Revised Statutes § 568.045, endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree by knowingly creating a substantial risk to a child's life, body, or health is generally a Class D felony carrying up to seven years in prison, and can escalate to a Class C felony punishable by up to 10 years if injury results or it is a repeat offense, per the Missouri statutes. Separately, fleeing a lawful traffic stop is generally a Class A misdemeanor under state law, but can be elevated to a Class D felony if the driver creates a substantial risk of serious physical injury or death.
Not Mims' First Brush With Violent Allegations
This is not the first time Mims has faced serious charges tied to a vehicle. In May 2025, St. Louis County Police arrested Mims in connection with a June 2023 road rage incident involving a vehicle chase, collision, and shooting near Jennings Station and Halls Ferry Roads, charging him with seven felonies, according to FOX 2. That arrest came nearly two years after the original incident, in an area local business owners described as a hotspot for road rage encounters.
St. Louis-area police pursuits involving fleeing drivers and vulnerable passengers have become a recurring concern. In July, officers deployed spike strips to halt a fleeing silver Ford Focus during a street takeover and discovered a baby in the backseat alongside an illegal rifle, as Hoodline previously reported. That vehicle had swerved toward an officer laying spike strips near Adelaide Avenue and Interstate 70 before it was finally stopped.
Valentine's Law and a Statewide Crackdown
Missouri's push to toughen penalties for fleeing drivers followed years of high pursuit volumes. Before the state's stricter fleeing legislation took effect in 2024, St. Louis County Police Department patrol officers alone recorded roughly 3,000 fleeing vehicle incidents in a single year, according to KBIA.
That volume helped drive passage of Valentine's Law, enacted in August 2024 and named for St. Louis County Police Detective Antonio Valentine, who died in a 2021 pursuit crash with a fleeing suspect. Under the law, codified as RSMo § 575.151, aggravated fleeing from a traffic stop at high speeds or in a manner creating a substantial risk of serious physical injury or death is a Class D felony carrying up to seven years in prison.
Spike strips, like the ones used to stop Mims, are a common tool for St. Louis-area law enforcement. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department has used the tire-deflation devices in other tactical interventions, including a June 2025 operation that disabled between 40 and 50 vehicles participating in reckless street takeovers along Manchester Avenue, according to KSDK. St. Louis County Police Department policy requires officers initiating or continuing a pursuit to continually weigh public safety risks against the immediate need for apprehension, prohibiting careless or reckless pursuit tactics.
