Mom's bond boosted for high-speed chase charge

Wake Forest, N.C. — A Wake County judge increased the bond Monday for a mother accused of leading police and sheriff's deputies on a high-speed chase with her toddler in the car.

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Mom in jail after high-speed police chase

Police said April Rene Pleasants, 27, of Durham, tried to avoid a driver's license checkpoint on Wait Avenue in Wake Forest shortly before 2 a.m. Monday. When officers saw her 1995 Nissan Maxima make a U-turn and head away from the checkpoint, they began a pursuit, police said.

Pleasants led police on a 45-minute chase through Wake, Franklin and Nash counties, reaching speeds of 90 mph, police said. After she was stopped, officers found her 4-year-old son in the back seat of the Maxima, securely strapped in his car seat, police said.

Pleasants was charged with felony speeding to elude arrest, speeding, driving while license revoked, careless and reckless driving and child abuse.

On Monday afternoon, District Judge Ned Mangum, noting that Pleasants had missed a previous court appearance, increased her bond from $10,000 to $24,000.

The boy was placed in the care of Pleasants' mother, and police called Wake County Social Services to investigate the child abuse charge.