Perryville woman faces 12 charges after police chase

Kelsey Marie Dover, 24, of Perryville, Missouri, was arrested Wednesday after a high-speed chase that ended with her crashing into a refrigeration unit at a local restaurant, police said.

Dover faces 12 charges in the incident, with four felony counts and eight misdemeanor counts. The counts are felony possession of a controlled substance, felony resisting arrest by fleeing and creating a substantial risk of serious injury or death, felony leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident, felony resisting arrest, misdemeanor careless and imprudent driving, misdemeanor possession of up to 35 grams of marijuana, misdemeanor unlawful use of drug paraphernalia, misdemeanor tampering with physical evidence, misdemeanor driving while intoxicated, misdemeanor failure to drive on the right half of the roadway, misdemeanor failure to equip vehicle with a rear license lamp and misdemeanor failure to maintain financial responsibility (having expired vehicle registration).

Perryville K-9 officer Christopher Bradford conducted a traffic stop about 8:40 p.m. on Edgemont Lane because he saw a 2012 Hyundai Sonata cross the center line into another lane of travel and saw the vehicle’s registration lamps were defective, according to a probable-cause statement. Bradford noticed the vehicle’s registration was listed for renewal in February, according to the statement.

During the stop, Bradford smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle, and he saw Dover reach for her purse on the driver’s side floorboard, according to the statement. He also wrote Dover’s pupils were constricted and would not react to light, according to the statement.

“I informed her that once another unit was on scene that I was going to be searching her vehicle,” Bradford wrote.

Dover told Bradford someone else had been smoking marijuana earlier in the day, according to the statement. When Bradford asked Dover where the marijuana would be, she drove away, according to the statement.

Dover turned onto French Lane and did not stop at a stop sign at the intersection with West St. Joseph Street. The vehicle entered the parking lot of Smokin’ Double Barrel BBQ, attempted to turn and struck a concession stand and refrigeration unit. During the crash, a parked car and metal smoker also were damaged. Bradford reported that Dover was driving at a high rate of speed. The damage reported at the scene was in the thousands of dollars, according to the statement.

Dover fled on foot toward Highway 51 but was apprehended nearby and taken to Perry County Memorial Hospital in Perryville, according to the statement.

Officers searched the vehicle and Dover’s purse and found four capsules with a light brown powder (one of which field tested positive for heroin), a bud of marijuana and needles, according to the statement. Dover did not provide a blood or urine sample at the hospital, according to the statement.

Dover’s bond is set at $20,000 cash or surety.

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address:

1324 W. St. Joseph St., Perryville, Mo.