11 months ago

On September 7, 2022, at approximately 7:03 P.M., I was sitting in the right lane of travel on Interstate 55 just before the 1
southbound exit. Traffic was congested and stopped due to a prior incident on the Interstate 55 Bridge. I observed a red
Pontiac Grand Prix pass me on the right shoulder traveling approximately 50 miles per hour. I pulled to the right shoulder and
turned on my blue lights to initiate a traffic stop.

The red Pontiac pulled to the shoulder a short distance ahead and I advised dispatch of the traffic stop. I exited my patrol unit
and made contact with the driver at the driver’s door. I introduced myself and told the driver why I stopped him. I asked the
driver if he had a driver’s license and he said no. I immediately smelled the strong odor of marijuana coming from the car. I
asked the driver to step out of the car and speak with me at the rear of his vehicle. I noticed a female sitting in the passenger
seat and asked her if she had an ID and she said no she did not have an ID. The driver stated he was trying to take his friend to
the hospital because she wasn’t feeling well.

The driver exited the car and walked to the rear of his car as we talked about his friend being ill. The driver said he was trying
to get to the exit to turn around and go back to the hospital in West Memphis. I asked the driver if he had an ID, and he said yes.
I asked him to get it for me, and he handed me an Illinois ID card that identified him as ERIK WINFERT from Chicago Heights,
Illinois. I asked WINFERT if the car belonged to him and he said no it belonged to a friend. I told WINFERT his MIRANDA
RIGHTS and asked him if he understood his rights. WINFERT said yes he understood. I told him I could smell the odor of
marijuana coming from his person and the interior of the car. I asked WINFERT if he had anything illegal in the car and he said
no. I asked WINFERT if he had anything illegal on his person and he said no. I asked WINFERT to place his hands on the rear
of his car so I could check him for weapons. I told WINFERT I was going to search the car and for him to go stand in front of the
car, out of the way of traffic.

I went to the passenger door and asked the female passenger to exit the car. I asked her if she had anything illegal on her
person and she said no she did not. I told the female her MIRANDA RIGHTS and asked her if she understood her rights and
she said yes she understood. I asked her if there was anything illegal in the car and she said no. I asked her if she had
anything illegal in her purse that she brought out of the car and she said no. I told her I was going to search her purse and she
said to go right ahead. I asked the female to go stand in front of the car with WINFERT.

Trooper Garrett Byrd arrived and I told him about the stop. I asked Trooper Byrd to take WINFERT to his patrol car and
administer SFSTs to WINFERT who was visibly under the influence of something. He had red eyes, droopy eyelids, a light
green film on his tongue, and unsteady on his feet.

I began searching the car and the female passenger became very interested in what I was looking at. She began to walk back
to the rear of the car on the driver’s side and said there may be a gun in the car. I told her ok, and to go back to the front of the
car. She walked back to the front of the car and almost immediately turned around and began to walk back toward me. She
said there may be some other stuff in the car as she climbed in the driver’s door. I attempted to stop her as she put the car in
drive and began to flee. I let her go and returned to my patrol unit.

I advised dispatch I was in pursuit and we were approaching the bridge. The red Pontiac was traveling at speeds more than
100 miles per hour on the right shoulder. I saw her car come to an abrupt stop and advised dispatch she may have wrecked. As
I approached the red Pontiac I advised dispatch she wrecked and to send me an ambulance. The red Pontiac hit a box truck
and was cut in half. The female was lying with her legs in the front passenger area, and her head was on the ground where the
back seats would normally be.

After the female was taken by Crittenden EMS, I located an ID that identified her as Brittany Johns. I advised dispatch of her name and date of birth. An NCIC check showed JOHNS has an active warrant out of Illinois with full extradition. I continued to
search the car and located a .22 revolver in the rear passenger side floorboard. Photos were taken of the gun before it was
touched and collected.

WINFERT was transported to the Crittenden County Detention Center
and booked for traffic violations. I went to the Crittenden County Detention Center and added a FELON IN POSSESSION OF A
FIREARM charge on WINFERT.

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