ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – A Ferguson man led police on a dangerous pursuit, drove the way on a busy street, and caused two crashes, all because he didn’t want to get a ticket for being uninsured.
According to the St. Louis County Police Department’s probable cause statement, the chase began shortly after 3:20 p.m. on July 22, on Chambers Road near Forestwood Drive.
A county officer saw a silver 2009 Mercedes C300 with an expired temp tag. The officer ran a record check and learned the temp tag was registered to a different vehicle.
Police said the officer attempted to pull the Mercedes over, but the driver sped off into oncoming traffic on West Florissant and nearly collided with multiple vehicles.
The officer lost sight of the Mercedes for a moment, but eventually noticed the car backed into a driveway on Ferguson Avenue. As police got closer to the car, the driver sped off again.
The probable cause statement says police deployed a tire deflation device as the driver of the Mercedes continued to act recklessly behind the wheel.
At one point, the Mercedes went into oncoming traffic on Washington Street, just past Interstate 270. The Mercedes driver T-boned a 2017 Nissan Rogue, whose driver swerved at the last second to avoid a head-on collision. Police said there was an infant in the backseat of the Nissan.
The Mercedes collided with a 2004 GMC Terrain, injuring both the driver and a passenger in that vehicle.
Police said the driver of the Mercedes, Mikel A. Carnes, 19, got out of the car with an AK-47 pistol and pointed it at police who had arrived at the crash scene. Before he could fire, Carnes fell over and dropped the gun. Carnes got up and tried to run but was detained by a police detective.
Police said they found a pound of marijuana and other drug paraphernalia in the Mercedes. Carnes allegedly told police he sells marijuana to make extra money and that he only fled police because he didn’t have car insurance and wanted to avoid getting ticketed.
The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Carnes with two counts of second-degree assault, two counts of armed criminal action, one count of unlawful use of a weapon, one count of resisting arrest, one count of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, and one count of first-degree property damage.
Carnes remains jailed without bond. He’s due in court for a bond reduction hearing on July 31.
