A woman said she thought it was “fun” and asked police if they were impressed after she led them on a 100 mph vehicle pursuit, running stop signs and a light, in Wauconda and Cary, prosecutors said.
An officer with the Wauconda Police Department was conducting routine traffic patrol during the early morning hours on April 22 in the area of Route 176 and Fairfield Road in Wauconda, according to Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Patrick Windmoeller.
Officers had received an alert from a Flock automated license plate reader camera that the co-owner of a black Jeep had an active warrant out for his arrest out of McHenry County for retail theft.
The officer saw the Jeep, conducted a U-turn to follow the vehicle and noticed it had expired registration, Windmoeller said. The car immediately started to accelerate.
The officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop using lights and sirens but the driver failed to stop and fled.
Windmoeller said the Jeep disregarded a stop sign while traveling southbound on Darrell Road at Main Street.
The vehicle then disregarded a traffic light on Darrell Road at Roberts Road before turning onto Rawson Bridge Road.
The road was closed due to flooding and the vehicle drove directly through the flooded area.
The vehicle disregarded a stop sign as it continued left on Rawson Bridge Road and disregarded another stop sign as it made a left and continued onto Three Oaks Road, Windmoeller said.
The Jeep reached speeds of up to 100 mph during the chase. The officer terminated the pursuit due to public safety concerns.
Officers learned that the wanted co-owner of the vehicle was already in custody at the McHenry County Jail and could not have been driving it at the time of the offense.
The co-owner told officers that he had loaned the vehicle to his sister, Windmoeller said. The vehicle was found unoccupied in the 100 block of Birch Lane in Oakwood Hills later that day.
The vehicle was towed and officers reached out to family members who reported Margaret Rohr, 29, of Marengo, had been driving the vehicle recently and has substance abuse issues, Windmoeller said.
An officer spoke with Rohr over the phone and she admitted to driving the vehicle and fleeing from police.
She commented on her driving and asked the officer if he was impressed, Windmoeller said. She also mentioned that she drove through the flooded area.
Officers spoke with Rohr in person on April 25 and she again admitted to driving the vehicle and fleeing on April 22. She said that it was “fun” and again talked about driving through the flooded area, Windmoeller said.
Rohr was charged with aggravated fleeing to elude, expired registration, three counts of disregarding a stop sign, disregarding an official traffic control device and operating an uninsured motor vehicle.
Rohr was released from the Wauconda Police Department on April 25 and did not have to appear in court prior to being released. She was given a First Appearance Court hearing date of May 13.
Windmoeller said Rohr could not even make it to her first court hearing in the case before she violated her inherent pre-trial conditions of not committing any new offenses.
A police officer was on patrol in the area of Grand Avenue in Kilbourne Road in Gurnee in the early morning hours of May 10.
The officer noticed a vehicle that was driving 42 mph in a 35 mph zone and then failed to signal as it made a turn directly in front of the officer’s squad car, Windmoeller said.
A traffic stop was conducted on the vehicle for speeding and failure to signal.
The officer made contact with the occupants and identified Rohr as the front seat passenger.
Windmoeller said officers saw open alcohol in the vehicle and conducted a probable cause search, finding three glass pipes with burnt residue that the officers identified as drug paraphernalia near where Rohr was sitting.
Rohr was placed under arrest and was also found to have in her waistband a bag containing a rock-like substance, which field tested positive for .06 grams of cocaine, Windmoeller said.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to revoke her pre-trial release in the first case following her second arrest. She also had an arrest warrant out of Kenosha County at the time.
“Given the defendant’s flippant attitude and willingness to flee from law enforcement, there are no conditions or combinations of conditions she is likely to follow. The defendant’s pre-trial release must be revoked to prevent her from committing new Class A misdemeanors or felonies,” Windmoeller said.
Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim granted the petition following a hearing on the revocation of pre-trial release, saying that Rohr’s actions put the public in danger.
During the hearing, Rohr asked the judge for an ankle monitor, saying she wanted to do what she needed to do as a mother to take care of her children. She also said she never thought it would turn into this.
Rohr remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on Monday for a case management conference.