Richardson charged with resisting arrest, other crimes for high-speed chase

St. Louis resident accused of leading law enforcement on multi-county chase to evade arrest

A St. Louis man will be in court next month for a preliminary hearing on charges that he resisted arrest while allegedly leading law enforcement on a multi-county chase on I-44—including Greene County. Kevin Richardson, 35, faces charges of failing to yield to an emergency vehicle, operating a motor vehicle in a careless and imprudent manner, exceeding the posted speed limit and driving with a revoked or suspended license, in addition to a felony resisting arrest charge.
According to the probable cause statement in the case, on Saturday, Dec. 2, Lawrence County Sheriff’s Deputy Brady Hayward reported that the chase had begun in Rolla and continued west eventually through Greene County and ending in Lawrence County. Hayward said he positioned his vehicle at the underpass on I-44, on the west-bound side.
As Richardson’s vehicle, a Chevrolet Malibu approached, Hayward said he was informed that state officers had broken off their pursuit due to Richardson allegedly passing normal traffic on the shoulder of the road while traffic was stopped or slowed.
Hayward reported that he spotted the vehicle passing cars on the shoulder of the road and attempted to get the car to stop by activating his siren and emergency lights. However, he said, Richardson refused to stop and reached speeds of up to 130 miles per hour. Stop sticks were deployed at the 30-mile marker, and they successfully punctured the Malibu’s tires.
At the 27-mile marker, Hayward said, the Malibu began to slow down, but showed no signs of stopping and continued traveling at a speed of 10-12 miles per hour. To end the pursuit, Hayward said he performed a Tactical Vehicle Intervention maneuver, or TIV (A Tactical Vehicle Intervention maneuver, also called a PIT maneuver, is where a law enforcement officer forces a fleeing vehicle to turn sideways abruptly, causing the vehicle to lose traction and come to a stop). The TIV, Hayward said, ended the chase.
Richardson and a passenger (not identified in the probable cause statement) were taken into custody without further incident. When questioned later Richardson said he didn’t stop because his license was suspended, and he didn’t want to go to jail.
Richardson was arraigned on Monday, Dec. 4, and appeared in court again on Thursday, Dec. 7, where he was provided with a public defender’s application.
As of press time, Richardson remained in the Lawrence County Jail, where he is currently being held without bond. He is next scheduled to appear in court on Thursday, Jan. 11.