Alisha Nicole Mankin was wanted for a misdemeanor when she fled a police stop last month in a stolen U-Haul truck and led police on a televised 90-mile chase along the region's busiest freeways at rush hour.
After pleading guilty to felony evading of a police officer, she could receive up to a year in state prison, or probation, when she is sentenced in Ventura County on March 13.
Southern California law enforcement authorities say there has been a steady decline in police pursuits over the last decade, but a recent rash of chases broadcast to area viewers has put the risk-filled, resource-draining problem back in the spotlight.
And cases like Mankin's have spurred suggestions that the state's sentencing laws should impose stricter penalties on those who flee.
"This is what the Legislature enacted," Greg Brose, Ventura County's chief deputy district attorney, said of the one-year maximum sentence facing evaders such as Mankin, who remains in jail pending sentencing.
In exchange for her guilty plea, Ventura County authorities dropped three lesser charges and will forward a probation report to the sentencing judge with any relevant mitigating circumstances, Brose said.
Asked if he thought more serious deterrence was in order, Brose replied: "I'm sure there are plenty of peace officers who believe that's the case. If I'm on a highway, I have very serious concerns about someone trying to evade police."
On Jan. 28, Mankin bolted from a Palmdale traffic stop by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies. The chase was notable for its dramatic conclusion, with a California Highway Patrol officer tackling the 26-year-old on the dusty flanks of California 118 near Somis.
But the three-hour duration and costly deployment of cruisers, officers, helicopters and spike-laying trucks was not out of the ordinary. Another high-speed chase three days later dominated local airwaves for more than 90 minutes, and back-to-back pursuits last week involving a suicidal Bentley driver and a car thief also forced state and county authorities to commit tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in law enforcement resources to bring the flights to an end.
Felony evading of a police officer, when combined with reckless driving, carries a minimum jail sentence of 16 months and a maximum of three years, plus a $10,000 fine, said Sandi Gibbons, public information officer for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.
