Featured Story

Woman sentenced to 2-4 years following high-speed car chase

A Riverhead woman was sentenced to two-to-four years in jail Wednesday as a result of leading police on a high-speed chase through three towns last September that involved stolen cars, an escape from police custody and several car collisions, according to police.

Rasheeda Brown, 31, had pleaded guilty in May to a 28-count indictment on charges including two counts of third-degree criminal possession of stolen property, felony third-degree grand larceny, felony escaping jail custody and two counts of misdemeanor driving while ability impaired by alcohol and drugs. The driving while impaired charges stemmed from another incident that was consolidated into the indictment, according to officials.

She was sentenced by Suffolk County Criminal Court Judge Fernando Camacho in Central Islip.

The Sept. 17 chase started in Riverside where a Southampton Town police officer was alerted to a suspicious driver, which turned out to be Ms. Brown in a stolen car. She then led officers on a chase through Sunrise Highway, Route 111, the Long Island Expressway and then Route 58, where she hit a state trooper vehicle and was arrested.

But then Ms. Brown complained of chest pains and was taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center, where she later escaped, wearing handcuffs, and stole another car from the parking lot of TJ Maxx. She then went to her wife’s house on Mill Road for help in removing the handcuffs, prosecutors said.

Ms. Brown then took off in that car, with police again chasing her, until she collided with a Jeep towing a SeaDoo water scooter, and then tried to steal another car before being captured.

[email protected]