CASPER, Wyo. — A Natrona County woman faces a felony after allegedly leading law enforcement on a chase from Mills to Muddy Gap on Wednesday night.
Kati Cochran, 29, was charged in the Seventh District Circuit Court on Thursday with reckless driving, eluding and possession of methamphetamine with a third-time felony enhancement. She is presumed innocent until proven or pleading guilty.
The chase touched off around 7:31 p.m. Wednesday when an officer noticed a vehicle failing to use a turn signal, Mills PD Cpl. Kate Acord told Oil City News. The officer was also suspicious that the vehicle’s three occupants seemed to be slouched low in their seats, Acord said, reading from the officer’s report.
The vehicle did not yield for a traffic stop. The pursuit wound a circuitous route through Mills before heading west on CY Avenue, where the suspect vehicle reached 100 mph. It continued onto Highway 220, where the Wyoming Highway Patrol assisted.
Acord said the driver, later identified as Cochran, was seen dropping items out of the driver’s-side window. Troopers noted the mile marker at these locations and law enforcement was later able to recover suspected methamphetamine from the road, Acord said.
As the vehicle approached an intersection at Muddy Gap, a trooper performed a “tactical vehicle intervention.” The maneuver worked exactly as intended, causing the vehicle to fishtail to a stop and then roll backward into a ditch.
There were no injuries, Acord said.
Bond was set at $75,000 cash or surety. Cochran will not enter a plea until the case is bound over to District Court.
