Motorist pleads guilty to high-speed chase that injured Earlville officer

An Indiana woman pleaded guilty Thursday to fleeing police in a high-speed chase, resulting in a crash that severely injured an Earlville police officer.

Jaquaya M. Roy, 24, of Bloomington, Indiana (also listed in Chicago) entered a blind plea to one count of aggravated fleeing and eluding, a Class 4 felony carrying 1-3 years in prison or, alternatively, some combination of jail time and/or probation.

Sentencing is set for 11 a.m. March 17. Roy will at that time have an opportunity to address Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr. before he settles on prison or probation.

Roy was charged after an April 10 police chase begun when a sheriff’s deputy initiated a traffic stop on a speeding vehicle. While the deputy was speaking with Roy, the driver, he smelled burnt cannabis and spotted several open containers of alcohol.

One of the passengers was a parolee named Kevin Chester who instructed Roy, “Go go go,” at which she sped from the scene. The resulting chase reached speeds of more than 100 mph, including in a residential area of Mendota where the posted limit is 45 mph, according to police.

During the pursuit, Earlville police officer Jesus Alonzo crashed his cruiser on U.S. 34 near the Meriden Township building. Alonzo fractured his C6 and C7 vertebrae in his neck and suffered a concussion. He was not paralyzed but he continues to recover and has not been cleared for active duty.

Roy provided a statement to police, acknowledging she hit the gas to keep her parolee boyfriend from getting into more trouble. Chester, who was returned to prison and scheduled for parole in June, may have been armed, according to prosecutors. From the roadside police recovered a gun that may have been thrown from the vehicle as Roy sped away, prosecutors said.

Roy likely will be free on bond while awaiting sentencing. Assistant La Salle County State’s Attorney Matt Kidder asked Roy remain held, citing a recent no-show in a case that already is “fraught with issues of flight.”

But Ryan sided with Peru defense attorney Doug Olivero, who asked for bond to revert to the original $250,000, arguing the no-show was the result of a recent hospitalization.