DOCUMENT: Stupid, Crime

Slap On Wrist For Woman In Bucket List Bust

Driver sped from police, said arrest was on to-do list

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Bucket List Bust

SEPTEMBER 7--The Florida Woman who told cops that her “bucket list” included getting arrested for “something simple” has received a slap on the wrist for leading officers on a five-mile car chase, court records show.

Janiya Shaimiracle Douglas, 19, was arrested in May on a felony charge for allegedly fleeing from cops while driving her Toyota on a roadway in Key Largo.

After a sheriff’s deputy spotted Douglas speeding “over 90 mph reckless” around 7:45 AM, she continued to drive without stopping as the patrol car--with its siren and emergency lights activated--pursued her vehicle, according to an arrest report.

Douglas, a cop alleged, was observed “looking at my patrol vehicle from behind as her window was cracked open.” After driving for about five miles, Douglas approached a three-way stop, where another deputy “deployed the spike system in front of the defendant’s vehicle.”

Douglas, who stopped her car before running over the spike strip, told police she was running late for her job as a housekeeping supervisor at a resort. A cop responded that she could have “stopped her vehicle when I activated my light and siren and at worst maybe a citation” would have been issued. Instead, “her refusal to stop is criminal,” the officer added.

It was at this point that Douglas, seen above, “mentioned twice her bucket list in high school was to be arrested for something simple.” Sergeant Robert Dosh reported, “I explained she fulfilled her bucket list.”

During a recent court appearance, Douglas, who has no prior criminal history, entered into a pretrial intervention agreement calling for her to serve 96 hours of community service and pay $750 in court costs. She also must write a letter of apology to Dosh.

If Douglas stays out of trouble for 12 months and complies with the agreement’s other terms, prosecutors will dismiss the fleeing or attempting to elude count, a third degree felony. (2 pages)