A Baton Rouge woman is in custody after she allegedly nearly ran over several Lincoln Parish deputies while fleeing a vehicle stop.
Bailey E. Smith, 29, was seen by a deputy slowly driving in the parking lot of Ken’s Mini Mart in Choudrant at about 2:00 a.m. Thursday morning. The business was closed at the time. Smith was seen driving around to the backside of the property out of sight from the street. Smith’s vehicle had its headlights off and appeared to quickly pull into a parking space when the deputy was seen.
The deputy approached Smith and told her of the observation of her behavior and she replied she had run out of gas. She said the gas pumps were not working and that she spoke to someone about it in person although the store had been closed since 8:00 p.m.
When asked for identification Smith refused to give her name and date of birth, but eventually did so. A warrants check indicated Smith was wanted in St. Tammany Parish. She was asked to step out of the vehicle, and she refused to comply. She was asked multiple times to exit and at one point called 911 to “report” the deputies.
Smith then put her vehicle in reverse and backed up quickly, nearly striking the deputies on the scene. She managed to escape the parking lot and a pursuit ensued on Interstate 20 eastbound from Choudrant, traveling in excess of 120 miles per hour in a 70 mph zone. Swerving in between 18-wheelers, her erratic driving forced several vehicles to lock their brakes up and nearly caused accidents. Smith came to a stop near the 95 mile marker on I-20 and was taken into custody.
A search of the vehicle yielded large amounts of marijuana, multiple syringes, and multiple legend drugs that were not prescribed to Smith or the passenger.
Smith was taken to the Lincoln Parish Detention Center and booked for three counts of attempted first degree murder of a peace officer, resisting an officer, aggravated flight from an officer, simple escape, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of legend drugs. The nature of the St. Tammany charges was not immediately available.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
