Russell Anderson Pleads Guilty To Charges Stemming From Incidents Before And During Thanksgiving Car Chase [VIDEO]
A man wanted for parole violation out of Missouri, has admitted to hitting his pregnant girl-friend, intimidating her to become a prostitute and leading law enforcement on a vehicle chase through central Wyoming.
Russell Anderson has pleaded guilty to one felony count of aggravated assault and battery on a pregnant woman, one felony count of promoting prostitution, and one misdemeanor count of reckless endangering.
Special Agents with the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation say on the day before Thanksgiving 2015, a Mills Police Officer attempted to pull over Anderson for a traffic violation.
Anderson refused to stop and a chase ensued on I-25 southbound.
The Wyoming Highway Patrol eventually got involved.
Once Anderson was between the two exits to Glenrock, he then crossed over the median and started driving southbound in the northbound lanes.
Due to the serious risk of serious bodily injury to oncoming traffic, one trooper fired several shots at Anderson in an attempt to end the pursuit, however one shot hit Anderson's passenger, Michelle Essig, in the leg.
The chase ended a short time later, when the Patrol was able to pit Anderson's vehicle.
Essig told investigators that she was 12 weeks pregnant with Anderson's child and was the victim of violence, before the chase.
Police took pictures of her injuries.
She added that while in Casper, Anderson forced her to prostitute herself in order to make money, and she did it out of fear of Anderson.
When interviewed, Anderson acknowledged the physical altercations and knew Essig was pregnant.
A search conducted on Anderson's and Essig's cell phones, confirmed Essig's account of prostitution.
As part of a plea deal, prosecutors dismissed three other charges, agreed not to file any new charges connected to the case, and agreed that any prison time that Anderson receives on each charge, will run concurrent with each other or at the same time.
There is no agreed upon prison time in the plea deal, which means Anderson could get the maximum of 10 years in prison on the aggravated assault charge, up to three years in prison on the promoting prostitution charge, and up to one year in jail on the reckless endangering charge at the time of his sentencing.
Anderson is being held on $50,000 bond and will be sentenced at a later date.
Video of the car chase near Glenrock: