Police identify wrong suspect in high speed chase

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Southeast Missourian had previously reported that Ausha R. Sharp was charged with the crime, based on information from authorities.

After seeing reports that she had been charged with aiding a fugitive in his escape from law enforcement over the weekend, Ausha R. Sharp went to police to explain their mistake: They had named the wrong person.

On Monday, as was reported in the Southeast Missourian, felony charges of hindering prosecution and resisting a lawful stop were filed against Sharp.

Sharp is apparently friends with a woman believed to have helped Zatrun R. Twiggs during a high-speed chase Friday with Cape Girardeau police, Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle said. The two women are similar in appearance and an officer mistakenly identified the woman who drove the car during the chase as Sharp instead of her friend, Swingle said.

The charges against Sharp were dropped Tuesday morning, Swingle said.

Police believe they know the identity of the real suspect, but no charges have been filed yet, Swingle said.

"This almost never happens, and I'm embarrassed when it does," he said.

Twiggs was wanted on felony warrants for drug distribution and a parole violation, and the unidentified suspect stowed him away in the back of her car Friday night while she drove at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour, veering onto the shoulder of the highway as she passed other drivers.

The couple managed to escape to Scott City, where Twiggs ran into the residence of an elderly couple and made the man drive him to Chaffee, Mo., according to Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter.

The car was found abandoned in Rockview, near Chaffee. Twiggs is wanted on charges of home invasion, kidnapping and armed criminal action.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

388-3635

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

388-3635