Richardson gets only fine for high-speed chase through county

Remaining charges dropped in plea bargain for St. Louis man
A St. Louis man who fled from local law enforcement because he was driving with a suspended license was sentenced to time served and a $500 fine after pleading guilty to resisting arrest and driving with a suspended license.
Kevin Richardson, 35, was sentenced on Wednesday, Feb. 14, to 70 days on the resisting charge, with credit for the time he was in the Lawrence County Jail, and the fine for driving with a suspended license. He was also ordered to pay another $3,500 for the cost of his stay at the Lawrence County Jail. Charges of failure to yield to an emergency vehicle, operating a vehicle in a careless and imprudent manner and exceeding the posted speed limit were dismissed. After making the plea bargain, Richardson was released from the Lawrence County Jail.
The Greene County Commonwealth previously reported that on Dec. 2, 2023 Richardson led law enforcement on a multi-county pursuit on I-44 ending through Greene and Lawrence County. According to the probable cause statement in the case, Deputy Brady Hayward reported that the chase had begun in Rolla and continued west. 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, 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, Hayward said, Richardson said he didn’t stop because his license was suspended, and he didn’t want to go to jail.
According to online records, Richardson is required to make an initial payment of $500 by March 1. Afterwards, he must make monthly payments of $400 until his balance is cleared.