A Forest Lake woman is facing charges after fleeing police and leading them on a high-speed chase beginning in Athens Township and ending in northern Anoka County.
Alisha Marie Ammerman, 22, was charged Nov. 15 before judge Amy Brosnahan in Isanti County District Court in Cambridge with fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle and receiving stolen property, both felonies, as well as a misdemeanor DWI for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of a controlled substance.
Bail was set at $80,000 without conditions or $40,000 with conditions and her next court appearance for Dec. 8.
According to the criminal complaint:
On Nov. 12 at 1:05 a.m., Isanti Police officer Rodrick Barrows was returning to the city of Isanti. While on patrol he went in pursuit of a GMC pickup truck, which he clocked traveling 98 mph, southbound on Highway 65, near the intersection of Highway 65 and County Road 9 in Athens Township.
The vehicle turned left at the intersection of 237th Avenue and Highway 65, and Barrows attempted a pursuit intervention technique to force the driver, Ammerman, to lose control of the vehicle or stop. Barrows’ first attempt to catch the left rear wheel of Ammerman’s vehicle was unsuccessful, but he made a second attempt, which led Ammerman to overcorrect and
eventually roll over into the north ditch of 237th Avenue. The vehicle Ammerman was driving reached speeds up to 103 mph.
Once Ammerman’s vehicle was stopped in the ditch, Barrows called for the assistance of other agencies. Anoka County officers arrived on scene after the pursuit ended, Barrows having notified dispatch as he passed into Anoka County while pursing Ammerman’s vehicle.
Ammerman was the only occupant of the GMC. The East Bethel Fire Department came to help extricate her from her vehicle, and she was escorted to an ambulance on the scene. She was uninjured aside from a few minor scratches incurred while going into the ditch.
In the ambulance, Ammerman told paramedics that she had been smoking methamphetamine that night at a friend’s house and that she had acquired the vehicle there.
Ammerman refused medical treatment and was transported to the Isanti County Jail. Once at the jail, Barrows obtained a blood draw search warrant and transported Ammerman to Cambridge Medical Center where her blood was drawn.
The day following Ammerman’s arrest, Barrows received a message from a family member of the registered owner of the truck Ammerman had been driving. Barrows contacted and spoke with this person and the vehicle’s registered owner and learned the vehicle had been taken by Ammerman without permission.
On Nov. 14, Cambridge Police officer Mike Longbehn spoke to the registered owner of the truck, who said his son hangs out with Ammerman. The registered owner stated his son was at his house with Ammerman the night of the incident, and that Ammerman asked where the keys of the pickup were.
The registered owner’s son stated he thought Ammerman had needed to retrieve belongings of hers from the truck. Both the registered owner and his son stated Ammerman did not, and never had, permission to drive the vehicle.