HomeMy Public PortalAboutKane, Andrea AnnStar News 7/1/94
High speed
Chase ends
in capture
BY ROGER_ PHILLIPS
The Star -News
A high -speed chase involving four
police forces and a Montana woman
sought on felony charges ended last
Thursday when a Valley County de-
tective fired three warning rounds
toward her car.
Audrea Ann Kane, 34, of St. Regis,
Mont., faces felony charges for ag-
gravated assault, eluding a police
officer, grand theft, two counts of
aggravated battery and three counts
of injury to a child.
Kane, wanted by Montana authori-
ties for forgery, was being held this
week in Valley County jail with bail
set at $500,000.
Police had been monitoring Kane
at her sister's New Meadows home,
according to Sgt. Scot Kump of the
Adams County Sheriff's Department.
Kump said the officers had been
warned by Montana authorities that
Kane was armed and dangerous, but
since there were children present at
the New Meadows house, they chose
not to serve the warrant while Kane
was inside.
The 10 -hour confrontation began
when Kane left the New Meadows
house about 10:30 a.m. Thursday
morning driving a stolen 1986
Chevrolet Blazer. She was accompa-
nied by her 12- year -old son,
four - year -old daughter, a 15- year -old
male, and a 16- year -old male run-
away, police said.
Kane was also followed by Gary
Lee Decker, 18, and a 15- year -old
male, both of St. Regis, in a stolen
Toyota pickup.
Kump said an Idaho State Police
officer pulled over both vehicles and
arrested the occupants of the Toyota.
Kump and ISP Cpl. Craig Boll had
weapons drawn and pointed at Kane
in an attempt to detain her, but she
backed the stolen Blazer into Boll's
vehicle, causing an estimated $900 of
damage.
She then drove toward Kump, who
had to jump out of the way to avoid
being struck by her vehicle.
"The reason Corporal Boll and
myself didn't shoot her was because
of the kids," Kump said. "That deter-
mined a lot of things."
Kane then fled the scene south
toward McCall on Idaho 55 with the
state and Adams County officers in
pursuit at speeds estimated upwards
of 90 miles per hour.
According to McCall Chief of Po-
lice Ed Parker, he and his officers
joined the chase at Rock Flat west of
McCall, and after they tried unsuc-
cessfully to slow her down, the offic-
ers escorted her through McCall.
Parker said Kane was driving
"recklessly and with no regard for
human life or property," swerving in
and out of traffic and driving other
motorists off the road. At one point
she also attempted to run him off the
road, he said.
After traveling through McCall,
Kane continued south toward Cas-
cade, where Valley County Sheriff's
officers had been notified and were in
the process of clearing the streets to
prepare for her arrival.
According to Sheriff Lewis Pratt,
Valley County officers met Kane at
Gold Fork and attempted to slow her
down by occupying both lanes and
driving slowly in front of her. They
had hoped to slow her down enough
to safely force her off the road, but
Kane rammed the back of the two
police vehicles while traveling at
speeds of about 60 miles per hour.
Deputy Scott Denning suffered
neck and shoulder injuries and was
treated and released at Valley County
Hospital in Cascade. Kane also caused
$3,000 damage to the two Valley
County police vehicles.
After speeding through Cascade at
an estimated 85 miles per hour, the
police cars backed off and shadowed
Kane after it was apparent she was not
going to stop her vehicle.
Again, police feared an accident
would injure the children in the ve-
hicle, especially if an accident oc-
curred in the tight confines of North
Fork Payette River canyon.
Kane then proceeded south until
mile marker 82, approximately two
miles south of the Valley /Boise
County line, before turning her ve-
hicle around and heading north.
When she did not pass an unmarked
police car stationed to the north, or
another car coming up from Boise,
police discovered she had left Idaho
55.
After investigating several camp-
grounds and side roads, Valley County
Det. Tommy Rhea and Deputy Bill
McCarthy discovered a broken secu-
rity chain that had been strung across
a logging road near mile marker 85.
Rhea and McCarthy blocked the
road with their patrol car and walked
up the logging road. About 200 yards
up the road, they discovered one of
the occupants of the vehicle, the 16-
year -old male, walking down the road.
When he saw the officers, the boy
yelled a warning to Kane, who was
probably out of earshot at the time,
Pratt said.
Rhea and McCarthy apprehended
and subdued the youth. McCarthy
handcuffed the boy, put him in the
patrol car and then went to summon
help.
Rhea then heard a shot, someone
honking a horn and shouting for the
youth. The sounds came from the
direction of where he believed Kane
was hiding.
Pratt said the officers believed the
shot was to signal the boy back to the
vehicle, since at that time, the car was
not visible to the officers.
At approximately 8:30 p.m., Kane
started driving back down the road.
Rhea heard the car coming, and drew
his rifle. When the car came into view,
he stepped into the road and ordered
Kane to stop. She stopped the car, but
would not turn off the ignition as
ordered.
When she began moving forward,
Rhea fired two warning shots over the
top of the vehicle. Kane stopped, then
started to slowly drive forward again.
Rhea again ordered her to stop, and
fired a round toward her front tire.
The bullet hit the car's front bumper.
"At that time, she got out of the
vehicle and complied with his or-
ders," Pratt said.
Meanwhile, the boy who had been
arrested earlier kicked out the win-
dow of the patrol, crawled out of the
vehicle and tried to escape. He was
recaptured shortly thereafter, and has
charges pending for obstructing and
delaying, resisting arrest, escape, and
destruction of property.
By this time, officers from the
Boise County Sheriff's Office arrived,
and a search of Kane's vehicle dis-
covered a loaded .22 caliber rifle
within easy arm's reach of the driver
and a .25 caliber pistol in the glove
compartment.
Kane may also face additional kid-
napping charges, since the 15 -year-
old male was in her custody without
the consent of the boy's parents.
An investigation into the firing of
a police weapon by Rhea was begun
by the Idaho Bureau of Investigation,
a division of the Idaho Department of
Law Enforcement.
Pratt declined to comment on the
investigation, which had not been
completed this week.
Star News 7/20/94
Kane
bound
over on
felony
charges
CASCADE—A St. Regis, the 1986 Chevrolet Blazer,a stolen vehicle,into the
Mont.,woman was bound over to vehicle driven by McCall Police Chief Ed Parker as
Fourth District Court for trial on he pursued her through McCall.
seven of eight felonies she'd been The remaining charges include two counts of
charged with following a high aggravated battery,filed for her allegedly smashing
speed chase that started in Adams her vehicle into those drive by two Valley County
County and ended near Smiths Sheriff's deputies who were attempting to stop her
Ferry. by initiating a rolling road block.
Audrea Ann Kane,34,will be Also still standing are three felony counts of injury
arraigned before District Judge to children relating to the juvenile occupants of her
George D.Carey at 9:30 a.m.July vehicle at the time of the pursuit.Two of those chil-
29. dren are hers.
The single charge that she She was also bound over on a felony charge of
wasn't bound over on was an aggra-
vated assault charge filed as a eluding a police officer and a felony count of grand
result of her alleged attempt to run theft.
Kane remains in the Valley County Jail on a more
than half million bond.
Friday's preliminary hearing before Valley County
Magistrate Judge Darla Williamson saw heavy secu-
rity at the Valley County Courthouse as all those
entering the courtroom had to submit to a search
with a metal detector.
The security was because of alleged threats made
that attempts were going to be made to break her out
of jail.
Star News 10/27/94 f. ws Oct , 7igq^�
Woman to lead guilty p
in
high-speed chase
A woman accused of leading po- guilty will give her three convictions.
lice on a two-county,high-speed chase If she commits another felony later,
last July has agreed to plead guilty to she can be considered a habitual crimi-
three felony charges. nal and possibly face a life sentence,
Audrea Ann Kane,34,of St.Regis, he said.
Mont., has agreed to plead guilty to Kane is expected to plead guilty on
three felony charges as part of a plea- Friday.She will then be sentenced in
bargain agreement, according to November, if everything goes as
Valley County Prosecuting Attorney planned.
Larry Schoenhut. Kane was originally charged with
Kane led police on a two-county, eight felony charges. She has been
high-speed chase last July that ended held in the Valley County Jail on
when a Valley County deputy fired a $500,000 bond since her arrest in July.
shot into the stolen vehicle she was
driving.
As part of the plea-bargain arrange-
ment, Kane will plead guilty to two
felony counts of aggravated assault in
connection with the ramming of two
police vehicles during the chase.She
is also expected to plead guilty to one
felony count of vehicle theft.
Schoenhut said he will ask the
judge for no more than seven years in
prison as his part of the agreement.
The standard sentence for each felony
charge is one to seven years.
Schoenhut said Kane has no prior
felony convictions, and pleading
Long Valley Advocate Nov 23, 94 tone kdife1Advocate Mot/A/3/9e.
Kane
sentenced to
seven years for Cascade at high speed and authorities be a repeat offender.He asked that
backed off when Kane reached the she be released and give probation for
July car chase North Fork Payette River canyon out the balance of the 7-year sentence.
of concern that Kane's speed may "I guess I just wanted to say I'm
She will serve at least result in a crash that might injure oth- sorry,"Kane said when asked by Carey
rl e year before ers or the four youths,ages 15, 14, 11 if she had anything to say.
and 5,that she had with her in the But Carey held to the agreement
considered for parole vehicle. reached in the plea bargain.
Schoenhut said he didn't buy state- "This is a very serious case,"he
CASCADE—Audrea Ann Kane, ments by Kane included in the pre- said.He said he recognized that other
the 34-year-old St. Regis, Mont., sentence report that put much of the than a 1981 felony conviction,Kane
woman who led law enforcement offi- blame for the whole matter on an over- has had no problems with the law.He
cers on a high speed car chase the the-counter diet drug that Kane was also said he understands the attempts
length of Valley County in July,was reportedly taking by the"handful" to explain why the whole matter came
sentenced to seven years in prison prior to the chase. about.
here Friday morning. In his statement to Carey,Public
The first year of the sentence was Defender Richard Roats said Kane But,he said that she put a large
fixed,with the remaining six years was very sorry for what had happened. number of people at risk by her actions,
"indeterminate,"which means that He said Kane recognizes that what and that she deserved to be punished.
her behavior while in custody will she did was wrong,serious and put "1 think the state's recommenda-
determine if the sentence is extend- many people's lives at stake.He paint- tion is a very fair recommendation,"
ed beyond that year. ed a picture of Kane as a woman who he said.
Friday's sentence was the result was a victim of an abusive relation- "To be truthful Miss Kane,I think
of a plea bargain reached between ship,and who was a divorced,single this is somewhat less than what I would
prosecuting attorney Larry Schoenhut mother of two by the age of 18. have imposed,"Carey added.That
and public defender Richard Roats Yet,Roats said,she tried to better sentence does give Kane credit for the
that had the state dropping three felony herself,by earning her high school 135 days she had already spent in the
charges of injury to a child. diploma and then attending the Valley County Jail.
Kane pleaded guilty to one count University of Montana and commut- eat a handful of pills while at her house.
of grand theft and two counts of aggra- ing 140 miles round trip to do that. Roats also attempted to explain
vated battery and Schoenhut recom- It was the stress that went with the the collisions between Kane's vehi-
mended the sentence that was ulti- long hours associated with caring cle and the sheriff's vehicles—dur-
mately handed down by Fourth District for family while attending school that ing the attempted moving road block
Judge George D.Carey. got her onto the medication,which he ' —as partially the result of how close
But Friday's sentencing ended up said is known to cause psychosis in the sheriffs vehicles were when they
being merely a formality. some people. Financial difficulties changed lanes in their attempt to stop
In his statement,in which he out- arose,and she began writing bad checks, Kane.
lined why the sentence was appro- and it was her pending arrest on bad "She didn't have a whole lot of
priate,Schoenhut reviewed the cir- check charges that led her to flee time when the vehicles shifted(lanes),"
cumstances of the chase,which began Montana for Idaho. he said.In that incident,sheriffs deputy
in Adams County the morning of July At Coeur d'Alene she stole the Scott Denning received injuries to a
7 and ended with Kane's arrest later vehicle that was ultimately involved shoulder and ribs.
that evening on a mountain road near in the chase.She drove down to New 1 Schoenhut said he could bring forth
Smiths Ferry. Meadows from north Idaho with her expert witnesses who not only saw
During that period,Kane led law three children and a nephew, and the incident, but investigated it.
officers through McCall at excessive arrived at her sister's house in New Schoenhut's protests about the bear-
speeds and then down Idaho Highway Meadows. ing that had on sentencing were upheld
55 at speeds in excess of 80 miles per Her sister,Mary Hotchkiss,testi- by Carey.
hour. Pied Friday that Kane was not herself "I don't think she intended to hurt
Two Valley County's Sheriff's when she arrived at New Meadows, officer Denning,"Roats said."I think
Department vehicles were damaged and concern for the children prompt- more than anything, she's sorry for
near the Gold Fork bridge when they ed her to notify authorities. what happened."Roats noted that the
attempted to stop Kane by doing a "At that time,I felt that if I didn't, pre-sentence report indicated that Kane
maneuver called a"rolling road block." she would end up killing herself,"she "appears"motivated to rehabilitate
The chase continued through said.She also testified that Kane did herself and that she likely would not
S I 4 l- i € w d 10, /1795
Star News 8/10/95 Kane to speak
at NM church
A woman who went to prison after
leading officers on a high-speed chase
last year will speak about her reform
on Sunday at the Meadows Valley
Bible Church.
Audrea Kane will speak during
church services scheduled to start at
11 a.m.at the church,501 S.Morgan
St. south of Dorsey Warr Park. For
information, contact Pastor Rufus
Cole at 347-2586.
Kane, formerly of Montana, was
recently released from prison after
she led members of four police agen-
cies on a 10-hour, two-county chase
in a stolen vehicle in July 1994.
The Star News 8/17/95
Criminal to Christian
Andrea Kane says she's reformed 'itiL
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on high-speed chase I,
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says she has reformed. x �
N ., ,.„: "'‘,.., t ik' 1.,..,:4,
BY ROGER PHILLIPS
— 3 .0
The Star-News
1:,,:,..,::
As she sits in church singing hyirrns,or waiting on
h High Meadows Cafe,nothin about ,,,,.''IC,1 , _
customers at the g nothing
.about
Kane strikes a person as out of the ordinary.
She is dressed in a full-length skirt and a white blouse, . .
her blonde hair falls across her shoulders as she cheerfully �. °Y
greets customers and goes for another pot of coffee. She is *► Y `
an attractive,energetic waitress who could be found in any °>
cafe in any town in rural Idaho. R
. w }3:
But last summer,Audrea Kane was Valley County's x? ,. ` y`
most notorious criminal. x
Now,fresh out of prison,she has returned to New
Meadows,the place that marked the beginning of the final .. .
chapter of her one-woman crime spree. She is attempting to b „
rebuild her life and show people she is not the same person
who fled town a year ago.
Kane,35,has found religion, and says she turned her
life over to God.Last Sunday,she told 28 parishioners at
the Meadows Valley Bible Church about her experiences
and her conversion to Christianity.
Kane arrived in New Meadows last July after stealing
two vehicles and escaping from Montana,where she was
wanted for twice skipping bail after arrests for bad checks. p r
With guns drawn,police surrounded her vehicle on July
7, 1994,while she was at her sister's house in New
Star News photo by Roger Phillips
Meadows,but Kane escaped them by ramming a police car Audrea Kane says over-the-counter drugs drove her to her crime spree,but her
and nearly running over an officer. time in prison has left her body clean and turned her to God.
With her five children with her in a stolen Chevy
Blazer,she led officers on a high-speed chase through New
Meadows,McCall,Donnelly and Cascade. She dodged amends to the people she harmed during her spree.
road blocks and crashed into two rvore police cars when Kane lived with her husband and five children on a 108-
iY' .
officers tried to stop her during her flight. acre ranch near St. Regis,Mont.After being inured while
She had temporarily eluded her pursuers on a secluded m sure working as a certified welder,she said she decided to go to
logging road in south Valley County,when Valley County college at the University of Montana in Missoula and take
Det.Tommy Rhea fol�nd her hiding.Rhea forced her to thankful God pre-law courses.
surrender after firing two warning shots over her vehicle, The commute to Missoula was 140 miles round trip,and
and one round into its chassis,ending a 10-hour,three- was taking care
emesterst year she was taking 22 hours of classes per
county chase.
Kane was later sentenced to seven years in jail with one During her second year of college the pressures of being
year fixed after pleading guilty to three felony charges,
of me and a wife,mother and full-time student started to mount,she
dropped from eight felony charges through aplea-bargain turned to an over-the-counter asthma medicine that contains
arrangement. the stimulant ephedrine.
everyone else on << �,
Kane was paroled from prison last month after serving I was getting really burned out and tired,”she said.
the last year in Valley County and Adams County jails, and Kane occasionally found the drugs in her husband's
the state women's prison in Pocatello. the street. laundry,and said she hated the way he acted when he was
But there was more to her the story than what appeared on them. She usually flushed them down the toilet when she
in the media and the police blotters. found them,but she thought they might help her stay awake
In interviews with The Star-News last week,Kane -Audrea Kane and accomplish a little more during her hectic days.
explained how she went from a wife,mother and college "I had never done illegal drugs,and I never wanted to
student living on a ranch in rural Montana to al felon o the get into that,"Kane said. _
run,and how she is now trying to rebuild her life and make
The Star News 8/17/95 r f z 4 i 2- Per q
US`
She rationalized her decision to reacted,"Kane said. worked hard to keep a positive atti- when she told the church members
take the pills by telling herself they That led to her arrest and facing tude and obey all the rules in prison. about her experiences.She said giv-
weren't illegal,and she would only the consequences of the previous After her mandatory one-year of ing the talk was her mother's idea,
take them when she needed to stay three months of her life, which she incarceration, she went before the and she admits she wasn't crazy about
awake.But she soon started building described as the period of heaviest parole board,and was granted parole it at first.
a tolerance to them, as well as a drug abuse. At that time,Kane said the first time she was eligible. She told her mother, "Mom, I
dependency. she was in a state of"unreality,"and "When I first went to the parole can't do this, I've never spoken in
As the pressure from her mar-
she believes she suffered a nervous board, I was really scared," Kane front of people before.
riage, school work and home life breakdown. She said still doesn't said. "I felt like I did my part,but I But she decided to do it anyway,
continued unabated,her life started,remember all of what happened im- knew it was in God's hands." and she has already been asked by
to unravel, and her dependency on mediately after she was jailed. She will serve for up to six more another church to speak at their ser-
the pills worsened. Kane said she "When I got arrested,I had been years on parole.She may be released vices.
would stay awake for days at a time, �� «
eating nothing but a steady diet of on them(the pills)for a year, Kane sooner,but probably not before she I guess if it keeps one kid from
ea
asthma pills. said. pays the$11,000 she owes in restitu- trying drugs or taking drugs,than it
It scares me to think I could get tion for the damage she caused. was worth it,"she said.
Eventually,her marriage disinte- " Kane said she was both excited Kane is not sure about her long-
grated,and her life continued on its addictedand do something like that, g-
she said."Even now,to talk about it, and nervous about her release from term plans.She's trying to bring her
downward spiral.She started getting it's almost like someone else did it." prison. family back together and says she
into scrapes with the law in Mon- But she knows it was her doing, "It was the hardest thing I've ever looks forward to returning to"a nor-
tana,and said she skipped bail twice and she is grateful no one was killed done,"she said."I wouldn't want to mal life."
out of fear of being sent to jail.Be- or seriously injured during her run do it again;it was a very painful part "I would like to tell all the people
fore that, she had never done any- from the law. of my life." who were involved that I am sorry
thing worse than a couple traffic "I'm sure thankful God was tak- Kane decided to return to New and let them know I'm not the same,"
violations and once failing to appear ing care of me and everyone else on Meadows to start over, a move that she said.
on a traffic infraction,she said. the street,"she said. caused her some anxiety at first. On her road to redemption,Kane
When the crisis seemed insur- After she was thrown in jail, she "I think I was more scared than has picked up one seemingly un-
mountable, she left Montana for slept for days on end, then started anything.I knew I was going to have likely supporter in Det.Tommy Rhea,
Idaho in a stolen vehicle with her eating,and as her body cleared itself to face a lot of people," she said. the man who shot at her car.
children in tow.
"I'm of the drugs, she said she started "Everybody here knows who I am "If she has truly seen the light and
not sure how I justified that thinking more clearly. and what I've done." accepted Jesus Christ in her life, I
in my mind,"Kane said. Kane read the Bible cover-to- But she said the people of New wish her the very best,"Rhea said.
When she arrived at her sister's covelsix times during her six months Meadows have treated her well since He pointed out that she put sev-
house in New Meadows,she was 30 in jail, and decided to change the her return."People have gone out of eral police officer's lives in danger,
pounds under her normal weight, course of her life."There are a lot of their way to be nice to me,"she said. as well as the lives of her children.
staying awake for as long as a week, things God did for me when I was in "Most people are pretty fair,they'll "She put us in harm's way,"Rhea
at a time,and ingesting as many as jail and prison,"she said. give you a chance." said. "I sincerely hope she has seen
300 tablets in 24-hour periods. She After being transferred to prison, When asked if she feels she has the ill of her ways."
suffered hallucinations and paranoia, she entered drug rehabilitation, at- paid her debt to society, Kane says But he holds no grudges against
effects of the drug abuse. tended Alcoholics Anonymous and she believes she has,but realizes all her."I had nothing personal against
Kane said her family tried to tell Narcotics Anonymous meetings,and people won't agree."I'm sure there her to begin with,but I would have
her she was out of control,but in her went to church services. She also are people who don't think I have," something against her if she wasn't
drug-induced state,she thought they took computer courses,and worked she said. "I guess everybody has to being honest with herself and other
were the ones behaving strangely. in the prison's law library for 12 be their own judge of that." people,"he said.
Her sister tried to get her children ours a day,five days a week,which Kane is not trying to hide from "But let's face it,only she knows
away from her on the morning the earned her$30 a month. her past,as was evident last Sunday the color of her heart,"Rhea said.
police arrived,but Kane wouldn t let Her life in prison was not easy,
them go. She said when the police Kane said. Aside from being sepa-
surrounded her vehicle,her"fight or rated from her children and family,
flight" instincts took over, and she she had to serve time with people she
fled. described as "very negative," who
"I didn't have time to think,I just refused to work and had no hope of
ever being set free. Kane said she