Passenger in cop-dragging case gets 2nd chance

In the 10 months since her husband was shot dead by police during a Cottage Grove traffic stop, Jessica S. Wilson has been working to put her drug addiction, grief and other problems behind her, according to her defense attorney.

At Wilson's sentencing on Monday for her role in the March 29 tragedy, in which a Cottage Grove police officer was dragged alongside the car for more than 500 feet, Washington County District Judge Susan Miles agreed. She told Wilson she was getting a chance to continue on that path of transformation.

"You have an opportunity to prove to me that you have turned your life around," Miles said, along with issuing a stiff warning of the legal consequences of failure. "Please prove me right."

As part of a plea agreement, Wilson, 28, pleaded guilty to two felony counts: drug possession and aiding and abetting obstruction of the legal process. Five other charges were dismissed.

Along with five years of probation, orders to remain free of alcohol and illegal drugs and credit for 31 days she's already spent in jail, Wilson was also ordered to pay restitution to a Maplewood couple whom the Wilsons robbed and from whom they stole a car.

In a victim-impact statement, Sonja Waldemarsen said the crime has left permanent emotional scars.

The main point of contention at the sentencing was whether to stay the sentence on the drug charge, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

But Michael Hutchinson, assistant Washington County attorney, said Wilson has neglected after-care for drug treatment, and reminded the judge that Cottage Grove police officer Brad Petersen easily could have been killed.

In her statement, Waldemarsen said the computers stolen by the Wilsons held two years of work on a website business her husband was trying to get off the ground, along with pictures of her children that will never be recovered.

"This may sound heartless, but I have not regretted the phone call that caused Robert Wilson to lose his life," she said, through tears.

"I would like to say I'm sorry," Wilson told Waldemarsen. "Whether you believe me or not, I didn't know anything about the car being stolen. If I had a way to help you, I would."

Wilson then told the judge she has come a long way in staying sober and free of drugs, holding down a job, living on her own, rebuilding trust in relationships ruined by drugs and working to be a better parent.

Any slip from the conditions, which includes after-care treatment, will mean the stay of sentence is reversed, she said.

According to the complaint, Jessica Wilson and her husband, Robert, 27, and their 11-month-old son had spent the night of March 28 at the home of Waldemarsen and her boyfriend after the Wilsons said they had nowhere else to go. The next morning, it says, computers, electronic equipment and the couple's car were gone.

At 11:51 p.m. the next day, the stolen car -- with the couple's toddler strapped in the backseat -- was spotted by Petersen and pulled over in the 8200 block of Hadley Avenue. As the officer reached in to turn off the ignition, the complaint says, his arm became entangled in the steering wheel as Jessica Wilson put the car from neutral into drive.

As he was being dragged along, Petersen fired his gun into Robert Wilson's chest, the complaint says. The stolen car was brought to a stop when it was rammed by another Cottage Grove police car.

Robert Wilson died later at Regions Hospital in St. Paul. Petersen was not seriously injured.