Naked dash leads to obstruction charges

A 21-year-old Lorain woman’s alleged lies to police April 18 have landed her behind bars.

Lorain police were dispatched at 9:24 p.m. to the 300 block of Lakeside Avenue to meet with a man who claimed to see a naked woman run from a car screaming for help, according to a police report.

When officers met with the caller, he informed them the black Toyota Corolla the woman had escaped from currently was on the Charles Berry Bascule Bridge, the report said.

Officers stopped the car and the driver said the woman had run from the woods. They later discerned this was a lie, the report said.

The initial caller was driving a white Dodge Charger, which greatly resembled a police vehicle, and had dashcam footage of the incident, according to the report.

The female, later identified as Veronica Ratajczak,was in the passenger seat of the Corolla engaging in sexual activity with the driver, the report said.

The Charger seemed to scare both occupants of the car and the driver exited the vehicle and told the caller he was a Lorain police officer and, “it was his job,” possibly referring to a prostitution sting, according to the report.

A search of the police personnel list on the Lorain Police Department website did not corroborate this claim.

At this point, Ratajczak ran from the Corolla screaming for help, the report said.

When officers located Ratajczak walking fully clothed northbound on Colorado Avenue toward East Erie Avenue, she initially identified herself by a false name and birthday, the report said.

Officers believed she was intoxicated and under the influence of narcotics due to her inability to sit still while being questioned and her pupils being dilated, the report said.

Ratajczak told officers the incident was not true and she had not been sexually assaulted after they discerned her true identity, according to the report.

Ratajczak was arrested on a charge of obstructing official business and was transported to Mercy Regional Medical Center, 3700 Kolbe Road, for medical clearance. Officers then transported her to the Lorain County Jail.

She will appear in Lorain Municipal Court at 1:05 p.m. May 3 for a pretrial.

Ratajczak