Woman Found Guilty After Leading Deputy in High Speed Chase

SAN ANGELO, TX – Teresa Nell Grothe, 52, was found guilty on Tuesday after she was charged with evading arrest and leading a Tom Green Sheriff’s officer on a high-speed chase past Grape Creek and into Carlsbad.

On December 12, 2018, Grothe evaded officers after Deputy Ian Rook attempted to conduct a traffic stop after he observed a pickup on FM 2105 speeding, near Grape Creek Road. Even after the deputy activated his emergency red and blue lights and siren the driver, later identified as Grothe, failed to stop and sped away. She then proceeded to accelerate and reach speeds of over 90 mph as she headed towards Grape Creek.

According to the deputy, he observed the pickup swerve from the right-hand lane to the left-hand lane multiple times as other vehicles yielded and moved over to the side of the road as they saw the deputy approach with his lights and siren activated.

When the pickup reached the intersection of Hwy 87 and Beaumont St, near the State Supported Living Center, it seemed the driver would stop. But once again accelerated at “speeds in excess of 50 mph.”

The vehicle turned right onto 14th Street in Carlsbad, ran a stop sign and barely avoided colliding with another oncoming vehicle. The driver finally came to a stop in front of a gate at the intersection of 14th St and Marshall St. Instead of complying with the deputy’s order to exit the vehicle, Grothe put the pickup in reverse and struck Deputy Rook’s vehicle.

During the arrest, the deputy observed a white plastic cup in between Grothe’s legs and which Grothe later admitted contained whiskey. She claimed she had only “one drink “that evening and that she had taken several prescription medications earlier in the day.

When asked why she did not stop when she observed the deputy activate his lights and sirens, she stated: "because I was not breaking the law."

Grothe was arrested for felony Evading with a Motor Vehicle and misdemeanor Driving While Intoxicated. Grothe was indicted for evading with a motor vehicle and the case proceeded to trial on October 22nd of 2019.

Evading arrest in a vehicle is a 3rd-degree felony and can leadup to a 2-10 year confinement sentence and up to $10,000 fine.

The jury found Grothe guilty of the charge brought against her and recommend two years of confinement in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice-Institutional Division. The prosecution introduced Grothe’s prior conviction in 2018 for a misdemeanor offense of driving while intoxicated during the punishment phase of the trial.

Grothe and her defense lawyer, John Sutton, asked the jury to recommend probation. The State, represented by John Best, asked the jury to provide a punishment based upon the danger the defendant posed by her conduct to the community and the deputies that were involved in the chase and subsequent arrest.

“Fleeing from the police endangers the lives of the community, the officers involved, and the defendant,” said Best, “Hopefully, anyone considering fleeing from law enforcement will recognize this potential consequence before making the dangerous and reckless decision to flee.”