A Rochester woman faces felony charges after she allegedly sped from a traffic stop and later pulled over to let an unknown passenger escape through the nearby bushes.
Marissa L. Studer, 31, is charged with attempting to elude a police vehicle, making a false or misleading statement to a public servant, third-degree driving on a suspended or revoked license, and use of drug paraphernalia.
Studer made a preliminary appearance in Lewis County Superior Court on Tuesday. A judge set bail at $10,000 cash or bond and ordered that Studer be prohibited from operating a motor vehicle without a valid license or insurance.
Studer was also ordered to quash all active warrants within 30 days of her release from jail.
According to court documents, Studer had an active warrant related to a third-degree theft charge at the time of her arrest.
She pleaded not guilty to the new charges during an arraignment on Thursday.
According to a probable cause affidavit, on July 27 at about 10 p.m., an on-duty Lewis County Sheriff's Office deputy saw a silver vehicle pull up behind his patrol vehicle while he was inside.
The deputy exited with his flashlight and approached the vehicle. He saw a cracked windshield, a female driver inside and a passenger who was allegedly not wearing a seat belt.
According to the affidavit, the driver drove away, but then stopped after the deputy yelled “that he was pulling her over.”
The driver rolled her passenger window down. The deputy asked for her driver's license and the passenger’s identification, as the passenger was not wearing a seat belt.
The driver allegedly refused to provide her license and sped away.
The deputy ran to his vehicle, entered, and gave chase with his emergency lights turned on.
According to the affidavit, the driver pulled over again, only this time the passenger ran from the vehicle and disappeared into the nearby bushes.
The deputy ordered the driver out of the vehicle and arrested her.
According to the affidavit, the driver, identified as Studer, allegedly provided a false name for the escaped passenger, and at one point said she didn’t know who the passenger was.
Inside her vehicle, deputies allegedly found syringes, smoking devices and a scale.
Deputies failed to find the passenger, according to the affidavit.
