GULFPORT, Fla. — A 28-year-old woman was arrested after Gulfport police said she led officers on a high-speed pursuit through a residential area before crashing near Boca Ciega Bay and attempting to hide in a retirement community building.
According to arrest affidavits, Mollie Parsons, 28, of Pinellas Park, was spotted Sept. 27 near 24th Avenue South and 58th Street South. An officer reported seeing a vehicle accelerate through an intersection and travel against traffic before attempting a traffic stop.
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Police said Parsons failed to stop and instead sped away, reaching approximately 80 mph in a residential neighborhood. They say the pursuit ended when the vehicle crashed through a red safety reflector sign at the end of 58th Street South and almost entered Boca Ciega Bay.
Investigators said Parsons then abandoned the vehicle and ran through an abandoned apartment complex before entering the Town Shores retirement community. Officers later found her hiding in a utility closet on the seventh floor of a condominium building.
The Gulfport Police Department arrested Parsons on charges of fleeing and eluding law enforcement at high speed and leaving the scene of a crash involving property damage. She is being held in the Pinellas County Jail on a $10,000 bond.