Banks, Crash, Crime

Woman found guilty on multiple charges after Dec. 29 car chase in Banks

Jenkins. Photo: Washington County DA

HILLSBORO – Aubri Rita Jenkins has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after being found guilty on a series of charges stemming from a Sunday misadventure on December 29, 2019 in Banks and the surrounding areas, including nearly running over an Oregon State Trooper in Banks near city hall. 

According to a press release from the Washington County District Attorney’s Office, Jenkins was convicted on a slew of charges on Feb. 25, including unlawful use of a weapon, fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, recklessly endangering another person, reckless driving and two counts of failure to perform duties of a driver. 

Presiding over the case was Judge Janelle Wipper, with Deputy District Attorney Sara Loebner from the Washington County District Attorney’s Office prosecuting the case. 

The story began, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, in the Cedar Canyon Road area, near the Killin Wetlands at Killin Road.

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Just before 11 a.m. on December 29, deputies with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to conduct a welfare check after a passing driver said they saw a person slumped over in the driver’s seat of a blue 1991 Geo Prism near the Killin Road and Cedar Canyon Road intersection between Banks and Hayward.

A short time later, the car was spotted by an Oregon State Police trooper in Banks, near Banks City Hall on Main Street.

The trooper, Daniel Meyer, attempted to get the woman — later identified by police as 25-year-old Aubri Jenkins — out of the car, when Jenkins put the car in reverse, throwing the trooper to the ground and into nearby bushes as she drove backwards.

The trooper was not hit or injured, though Jenkins struck his vehicle’s front bumper, causing minor damage, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

After striking a parked truck and Meyer’s vehicle again, Jenkins fled north on Main Street/Highway 47 and then west on Highway 26 at speeds approaching 90 miles per hour with Meyer in pursuit before he terminated the chase due to Jenkins’ unsafe driving.

Eventually, Jenkins turned herself in.

“The Washington County District Attorney’s Office would like to acknowledge the work of Trooper Meyer and Oregon State Police. This office also thanks the Washington County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance on this case,” the District Attorney’s Office said in a press release. 

In addition to her prison sentence, Jenkins will be required to undergo two years of post-prison supervision upon her release.

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Chas Hundley is the editor of the Banks Post and sister news publications the Gales Creek Journal and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.

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