This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
An arrest warrant from a St. George judge was issued Tuesday for a former NASCAR driver who led police on a high-speed chase through three states last year.
Timothy Tyler Walker, 35, is charged in 5th District Court with felony failure to stop for police and two counts of felony possession of a controlled substance.
Walker is also charged with misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance, DUI, possession of drug paraphernalia, unlawful transportation of alcohol and open container in a vehicle.
After a year of court delays — a "plea by mail" court date has been moved at least a dozen times — 5th District Judge Eric Ludlow issued a $250,000 cash-only arrest warrant for Walker on Tuesday.
The judge did so after Walker's lawyer, Trevor Terry, said his client had mailed the wrong plea agreement from California, and the right agreement was expected to be sent by Tuesday afternoon, according to the St. George Spectrum. The southern Utah newspaper reports that Ludlow said he will no longer accept the mailed plea agreement, and was frustrated by the repeated delays in the case.
Walker, who was suspended from NASCAR in 2007 for violating its drug policy, was arrested in Utah last February after he drove a 2007 BMW 750 Li sedan over tire spike strips laid by Utah Highway Patrol troopers. Before he was stopped, he allegedly led police on a chase, where speeds reached 140 miles an hour, through Arizona and Nevada.
After Walker and his passenger, 32-year-old Raelle Hann McDonald, were arrested, police allegedly found methamphetamine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia in the BMW. An open bottle of vodka was also allegedly found on the front passenger floor board, according to UHP.
McDonald resolved her criminal case in May, pleading guilty to two misdemeanor drug possession charges. She was sentenced to 36 months probation.
Twitter: @jm_miller