A Graham County Sheriff’s Deputy patrolling Highway 70 over the weekend clocked an eastbound vehicle going 95 in a 65 MPH zone. He initiated a traffic stop of the black Jeep with California plates and made contact with the female driver. When the deputy told the woman why he stopped her, she said that she was lost and trying to get to her uncle’s house in Phoenix. When the deputy explained that she was driving in the wrong direction, the woman started to cry. She told the deputy that she was emotional because she was pregnant and lost.
The deputy issued a civil speeding ticket and let the woman go after telling her she needed to go the other direction to get to Phoenix. She looked up her uncle’s address on Google Maps and headed west on Highway 70 toward Phoenix.
A couple of minutes later, the deputy realized that he had not given the woman a copy of the ticket so he caught up to her again and pulled her over to give her a copy. The woman then continued on her way to Phoenix and the deputy went back to a stationary patrol position.
About an hour and a half later, the same black Jeep with California plates drove past the deputy, heading east on Highway 70. The deputy followed the vehicle. Based on the woman’s assertion that she was going to Phoenix, the deputy pulled her over to check on her welfare.
The woman was on the phone with her mother. She told the deputy that her mother was telling her to go home to California. The deputy told her that she was going the wrong direction again. The deputy tried to talk to the woman’s mother over the phone, but when she told the deputy that her daughter had bi-polar disorder, the woman hung up the phone and began acting erratic. The deputy tried pointing out that she was going the wrong direction for the second time, but she didn’t seem to understand and kept saying that she was just trying to go home.
The woman began rambling about being raped by her boyfriend in a hotel and she was running from him. Then she pulled up her long sleeve and on her forearm was written the word, “Help.” The deputy asked if there was anyone else in the vehicle but the woman said she was alone. The deputy did not see anybody else in the vehicle.
The woman called the S.O.S SiriusXM emergency from her Jeep and told them the deputy was following and harassing her and she needed an officer. The S.O.S. operator called dispatch and the deputy called for backup and medical evaluation.
The woman’s boyfriend called and said he had the woman’s phone location and was in Globe on his way to help. The woman’s father also called and explained the woman’s mental condition. He told the deputy that she had been on medication for 10 years but recently discontinued it because she didn’t think she needed it anymore.
Fort Thomas Rescue arrived and cleared the woman medically so the deputy told her she was free to go. She said that she would wait for her boyfriend to get her and she was okay going with him. The boyfriend arrived and woman willingly went with him. He left his car and drove her Jeep with her as a passenger. He told the deputy he would pick up his car later.
