A Lee's Summit man is facing criminal charges after leading Clay County sheriff's deputies and a state trooper on a chase that topped 100 mph on Interstate 35, ended with two forced pursuit interventions, and left a baggie of suspected methamphetamine on the pavement. Northwest MO Info listed Jacob W. Palmer’s Clay County arraignment for 1:35 p.m. Monday, October 5, 2026.
Chase Began South on I-35, Resumed After Deputies Lost Him
Sheriff's deputies first tried to pull over a black Acura SUV driven by Palmer as he headed southbound on I-35, according to Northwest MO Info. Palmer fled at speeds over 100 mph through traffic, and deputies eventually lost sight of his vehicle. A state trooper later spotted the Acura re-entering I-35 from the Pleasant Valley ramp and tried to stop it again, but Palmer kept going — this time only able to reach about 50 mph because one of his tires had gone flat, the outlet reported.
Authorities used two Tactical Vehicle Intervention maneuvers to finally stop Palmer's SUV. The technique involves a patrol car applying targeted lateral pressure to a fleeing vehicle's rear quarter panel to force a controlled spin-out, according to the Kansas City Missouri Police Department. As officers took Palmer into custody, he dropped a clear plastic baggie from his left hand that a probable cause statement says was believed to contain methamphetamine, per the original report.
Revoked License and Four Warrants
A computer check during the arrest revealed Palmer's driving status was revoked, and he had four active arrest warrants, Northwest MO Info reported. He was transported to the Clay County Detention Center and placed on a 24-hour investigative hold, with bond set at $75,000.
Valentine's Law Strips Away Probation and Key Defenses
The aggravated fleeing charge against Palmer falls under Missouri's Valentine's Law, a distinct Class D felony codified at RSMo § 575.151 that took effect in August 2024 and mandates a minimum of one year in prison without probation or parole for drivers who flee police at high speeds or create a substantial risk of serious physical injury or death, per the Patterson Legal Group. The statute is named for St. Louis County Detective Antonio Valentine, who died during a 2021 pursuit. Penalties escalate sharply depending on outcome: a flight that causes physical injury becomes a Class B felony carrying 5 to 15 years, while flight resulting in death becomes a Class A felony carrying 10 to 30 years or life, according to Patterson Legal Group.
The law also closes off a common courtroom argument. Under RSMo § 575.151, defendants charged with aggravated fleeing are barred from claiming the pursuing officer acted unlawfully during the initial stop, according to Dull Law LLC. That provision removes a defense strategy that might otherwise be available in a standard traffic-stop dispute.
Clay County Leads the State in Pursuits
Palmer's case lands in a county that has become ground zero for this kind of prosecution. Clay County Prosecutor Zachary Thompson has said the county recorded more high-speed police pursuits than any other county in Missouri from 2020 through 2025, based on Highway Patrol data, and his office filed 76 Valentine's Law cases in the statute's first 11 months — an average of roughly one filing every four days, according to The Auto Wire.
The pattern has played out in court before. In May, Clay County defendant Joseph A. Ford-Gray was sentenced to six years in prison for aggravated fleeing after leading deputies on a 96-mph chase that also ended with a Tactical Vehicle Intervention, the Clay County Prosecutor's Office said at the time. Hoodline has covered a similar Clay County sentencing stemming from a 100-mph chase that ended on a bare rim, part of a string of recent cases tied to the county's aggressive enforcement push.
Federal precedent backs the use of forceful pursuit-ending tactics like the ones deployed on I-35. The U.S. Supreme Court held in *Scott v. Harris* that officers do not violate the Fourth Amendment when using vehicular force to terminate a high-speed chase that threatens public safety.
