Woman flees from police with husband and four kids in car

It started with Farmington authorities getting reports of a man claiming to be Jesus. It led to a pursuit of a car carrying four kids.

By TIM HARLOW and SARAH LEMAGIE, Star Tribune staff writers

Last update: January 2, 2009 - 11:59 PM

The police call in Farmington before noon on New Year's Day began with reports of a man claiming to be the Messiah. But the call took a more bizarre turn when police, trying to make sure the man's family was OK, ended up in a high-speed chase of a car that held the family's four terrified children.

And police say they're uncertain why the chase ever began, though there may be a connection to a Minneapolis police chase hours earlier.

The south metro chase went through Farmington, Lakeville, Apple Valley and Eagan at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour, and officers could see two of the children standing in the back seat, according to a complaint filed Friday in Dakota County District Court.

Around noon, almost 10 minutes after the chase began, police forced the car to stop near the intersection of Pilot Knob and Yankee Doodle Roads in Eagan, said Sgt. Jim Murphy of the Farmington Police Department. Inside the vehicle, they found driver Rowena D. Brooks, a man identified in the complaint only as I.B. and their four children, ages 2, 4, 8 and 11. I.B. is Isaac Brooks, Rowena's husband, said Wil Brooks, who identified himself late Friday as Isaac Brooks' father.

Rowena Brooks, 27, was charged Friday in Dakota County District Court with one felony count of fleeing police and one misdemeanor count of child endangerment.

She was being held Friday in Dakota County jail in lieu of $75,000 bail, according to jail records.

"We're not sure why she took off," said Murphy.

Police went to a house in the 18200 block of Emerald Trail because a relative called to say a delusional man had been making apocalyptic threats against his family, Murphy said. The man had also been involved in a Minneapolis police chase earlier on New Year's Day, the relative said.

When a Farmington officer showed up at the house, he saw a vehicle matching the description of one that had fled and eluded Minneapolis police hours before. He started to walk up to the vehicle, but Rowena Brooks hit the gas and sped away, the complaint said.

Brooks ran several red lights heading north on Pilot Knob before police stopped the vehicle with spiked "stop sticks" that damaged a couple of the car's tires, Murphy said.

The children, two boys and two girls, were unharmed, Murphy said. Wil Brooks said the children were staying with one of Isaac Brooks siblings.

The complaint said the children were crying hysterically and their clothing was dirty and foul-smelling, leading officers to believe they had not been bathed for days.

The man was taken to a hospital for observation. One officer sustained minor injuries, Murphy said.

Minneapolis police pursued a vehicle with the same license plate around 4 or 5 a.m. Thursday, when a relative of Isaac Brooks' reported that he had been acting bizarrely for weeks, said Sgt. Jesse Garcia, a Minneapolis police spokesman. Brooks had claimed he was Jesus, said he could speak to angels and told family members they were devils, according to a relative.

When police arrived at the north Minneapolis address given to them by the relative, the car drove away at about 50 miles an hour, Garcia said. Police stopped the pursuit when the vehicle crossed into Golden Valley, he said.

harlow@startribune.com • 612-673-7768 slemagie@startribune.com • 952-882-9016

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