Woman who led police on chase sentenced

A 25-year-old mother of six children has been sent to jail for leading police on a chase in a stolen vehicle.

Vanessa Spear Chief fled from Standoff police April 15 after they tried to stop her for suspected impaired driving. Not only did she refuse to stop as a police car approached her from the opposite direction, but she nearly hit the police vehicle before continuing to flee.

With sirens blaring and lights flashing, police chased Spear Chief into a field where she nearly struck another police vehicle before disappearing over a hill. When police followed they realized Spear Chief had rolled the 1998 Oldsmobile and had been ejected from the vehicle.

The car, police learned, had been stolen from Calgary several days earlier.

Spear Chief pleaded guilty Friday in Lethbridge provincial court to one count each of failing to stop for police, dangerous driving and possession of stolen property. She was sentenced to one year in jail and prohibited from driving for two years.

She also pleaded guilty to one count of failing to appear in court earlier this year and one count of assaulting a peace officer stemming from an incident Dec. 6, 2016.

Court was told that when a Lethbridge police officer attempted to arrest Spear Chief on a matter she resisted, which resulted in a struggle between the two.

“She kicked the officer in the leg,” Crown prosecutor Vaughan Hartigan said.

Spear Chief was sentenced to 30 days for the assault, but it will run concurrently with her oneyear sentence. She was also given credit for 30 days she already spent in custody.

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