Photo: Brad Walsh
April 3, 2021 – Ventura County, Ca.
It’s a rare individual who can lead the cops on a high-speed car vehicle chase which ends with the cops giving up the pursuit. It’s even less common for a wanted suspect to engage in that manner with law enforcement for a second time and to successfully avoid capture.
But 43-year-old transient Brad Michael Walsh, a wanted felon out of prison on Federal probation terms—and 40-year-old Moorpark resident Michelle Margaret Halvorsen may have high-speed driving proficiency akin to that portrayed on actions films like The Fast & The Furious.
Michelle Halvorsen
According to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Det. Sgt. Kevin Lynch, this saga began in early January 2021 when Walsh had “absconded from his Federal probation” and was lying low somewhere in the City of Moorpark. On January 7th , VCSD patrol units spotted Walsh standing beside a 4X4 pickup truck. Before they could make contact with him, Walsh hopped into the truck and took off “at extreme speeds.”
Deputies initially gave chase, but with regard for the safety of other motorists, called off their pursuit and Walsh vanished into the night.
Six weeks later, on the night of February 27, 2021, Moorpark patrol deputies spotted Walsh’s pickup truck and attempted to conduct a traffic stop. Walsh was having none of that and took off n the 188 Freeway, again at “extremely high speeds.” But this time the cops stayed on the truck’s tail, chasing it onto a freeway offramp. As the pickup truck came to a halt, however, it suddenly reversed direction and rammed into the pursuit vehicle “causing severe damage to the police vehicle” and injuring the deputy behind the wheel.
At that point, the truck roared off onto the freeway once again, ultimately exiting and careening through residential streets where the cops again “cancelled their pursuit.”
Moments later, however, deputies were informed by police dispatch that the truck had crashed in L.A. County, but that the occupants had fled the scene on foot.
Responding to the crash site, detectives gathered enough evidence to identify the driver of the truck as Halvorsen, with Walsh as her passenger in the pickup truck.
The investigation into the whereabouts of the suspects continued through the month of March. During that time, Halvorsen was on the move, staying at various residences throughout Moorpark. She was spotted driving a rented SUV on March 26th , when a “coordinated traffic stop” finally saw her taken into custody.
The ongoing investigation into Walsh’s whereabouts lead detectives to a downtown Reno, Nevada casino, where
he was taken into custody. He currently awaits transfer to Federal custody on charges of absconding from probation, and numerous vehicle violations in Ventura County.
For her part, Halvorsen was transported to Ventura County Jail, where she was booked on charges of Felony Evading and assault on the peace officer with a deadly weapon, with her bail set at $100,000.
Photos: Courtesy Washoe County Detention Center, Ventura County Jail Booking
