Holland woman arrested for fleeing, meth possession

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PIPESTONE — A Holland woman who was arrested in May for drug possession and driving after cancellation is scheduled to make a first appearance next week on a second drug arrest.

April Lee Petroff, 29, was charged last week with third-degree controlled substance possession, driving after cancellation and fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle.

The complaint states Petroff was allegedly driving a maroon SUV one mile north of Holland when she met a Pipestone County deputy going in the opposite direction. The deputy, knowing Petroff had a license that had been cancelled inimical to public safety, turned his squad car and pursued the SUV. Petroff, the deputy noted, was slouched down in the driver’s seat in an effort to avoid being seen.

As the deputy chased the SUV, he saw it hit the shoulder on the right side. Petroff allegedly increased the speed of her vehicle until it was traveling approximately 100 mph, refusing to pull over for the deputy.

Petroff allegedly turned into Holland. When the deputy approached her residence, he saw the SUV parked on the grass. After getting permission from the owner of the residence, the deputy and other officers who had arrived entered the house and found Petroff lying on a bed in her bedroom, pretending to sleep. Her hand dangled off the side of the bed, the complaint states.

After she was arrested, officers searched the immediate area she had been in, finding a coin purse alongside the bed near where her hand had been. Inside the coin purse were several baggies, one of which contained approximately 4.5 grams of methamphetamine.

A search warrant was obtained and a thorough search executed. Drug task force agents found empty blister packs, tin foil with traces of meth and a glass bong with traces of meth. Throughout the house, agents found coffee filters, lithium batteries, pseudoephedrine pills and other chemicals used in the manufacturing of meth.

The same deputy had pulled Petroff over for speeding in late May, and during a search of her vehicle, located meth, marijuana and drug paraphernalia. At that time, Petroff told the deputy she was going to pick a child up from play practice. Later, the deputy learned the child in question had been with another adult all day.

Petroff pleaded guilty to fifth-degree controlled substance possession June 2 in Lincoln County and was given a stay of imposition with the condition she serve a short jail sentence. She has convictions in several counties, including Rock, Lyon, Chippewa and Pipestone, for driving while impaired, test refusal, disorderly conduct and assault. She is currently on probation. Bail was set at $15,000.

Tags: news, pipestone, crime, drugs