A Columbia Heights woman who was wanted on a warrant is accused of leading police on a high-speed chase across the north metro on Sunday evening in an effort to evade arrest.
According to the Anoka County criminal complaint filed on Monday, the chase began in the city of Ramsey, MN, near Bunker Lake and Sunfish Lake Boulevards around 7 p.m. after the vehicle took off from a traffic stop. The vehicle fled on eastbound US Hwy. 10 at speeds of up to 100 mph through the cities of Anoka, Coon Rapids, and Blaine before coming to a stop several miles later in Mounds View. Traffic camera images of the chase were also captured and posted on social media during the course of chase.
The complaint said that law enforcement officers pursued the vehicle as it weaved in and out of traffic on the highway. Twice they attempted to stop the vehicle with use of stop sticks, which caused damage to the vehicle but did not stop it. Sparks could be seen coming from the tire area as the vehicle fled. The vehicle finally stopped as it approached the exit to southbound 35W, but after a squad performed a PIT maneuver on the vehicle it continued a short distance down the freeway toward County Road I. A Mounds View squad was able to stay in front of the vehicle to slow it down and the Ramsey officer again performed a PIT maneuver which spun the vehicle and forced it to stop.
(MN Department of Transportation cameras captured the traffic back up in the aftermath of the incident)
Rachel Naomi Beaty, 30, was subsequently identified as the driver of the vehicle. Beaty admitted to police that she fled because she had a warrant for her arrest. Court records show that Beaty was charged in February in Anoka County on felony fifth-degree narcotics possession, and that she had been wanted a warrant since April for failing to appear at a scheduled hearing.
In 2011, Beaty was charged in Anoka County with aiding and abetting attempted kidnapping and aiding and abetting aggravated first-degree robbery following an incident in which she and two others tied up a man inside a Blaine home in an attempt to steal drugs and his vehicle. Beaty eventually pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting fifth-degree assault in that case and was given credit for nine days she’d already spent in jail and was released on probation for a term of one year.
Beaty also has two prior 2013 convictions for misdemeanor theft in Ramsey County and gross misdemeanor giving false information to police in Hennepin County. Beaty received reduced sentences in both of those cases, also. She was given credit for time served in jail in each case – 7 days in the theft case and 3 days in the false information case – and placed on probation in both cases.
Following Sunday’s police chase, officers found a half empty one-liter bottle of raspberry vodka and a cup filled with a liquid that smelled of an alcoholic beverage in the vehicle. A preliminary breath test showed that Beaty had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .03. The legal limit in Minnesota is .08. The complaint stated that damage was done to the Ramsey officer’s squad car, and that the pursuit lasted approximately 15 miles and at least four agencies were involved in attempting to stop Beaty from fleeing in her vehicle.
Beaty, whose address is listed as an apartment on the 4700 block of Central Avenue Northeast in Columbia Heights, MN, was originally booked on several probable cause charges including fleeing, open bottle, uninsured driver and driving after revocation. Beaty was formally charged on Monday with one felony count of fleeing police and made her first appearance on the charge on Tuesday. If convicted, Beaty could face up to 3 years in prison. Beaty also made a court appearance on Monday related to the felony narcotics warrant and remains in custody on $5,000 bail in each case. Beaty is scheduled to make her next court appearance in both open cases on Jan. 13.
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Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota.
Crime Watch MN
Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
