Metal Thieves Flee Police at 100 MPH; Claim It Was For 7-Year-Old

RACINE COUNTY, WI — A husband and wife team fled police at 100 miles per hour after a scrap metal theft they claimed was for the sake of their 7-year-old's birthday party.

On July 8, just before 4 a.m., police were dispatched to Racine Metal Fab in the Grandview Industrial Park after a report of a scrap metal theft at the business.

According to her criminal complaint, Bixby was behind the wheel of a red pickup truck heading east on highway 11.

Police caught up with Bixby on highway 11 at 56th Rd., only to have her speed up to 80 miles per hour once she noticed police behind her.

According to her criminal complaint, she accelerated further, up to 103 miles per hour before trying to make a run for it on I-94. She missed the ramp the first time, but managed to enter the ramp heading north on her second try.

According to police, Bixby passed two State Trooper squads at 60 miles per hour within four feet of their vehicles, which were pulled over to the side of the interstate on an unrelated traffic stop.

Officers on the east frontage road and the squad pursuing Bixby used their spot lights to illuminate the cabin of her vehicle. Eventually she began to slow down and pulled over to the side of the interstate. Police conducted a high-risk traffic stop on her vehicle, including shutting down the middle and right lane of I-94 during the stop, police reported.

When police conducted the traffic stop they learned that Bixby and her husband, the passenger, David Stich, told police they were just taking the scrap metal to sell to get some extra money for her 7-year-old son's birthday party, their criminal complaint stated.

According to their criminal complaint, Stich was on bond in Kenosha County for a battery and disorderly conduct case, and was released on condition to commit no other crimes while on bond.

Police reported that the apparent theft of scrap metal resulted in a value of between $200-500.

------

patch.com image