Woman sentenced for trying to end police pursuit by shooting at semis on I-70

A Missouri woman has been sentenced to federal prison for shooting at multiple semi trucks during a high speed police chase in 2016.

On Monday, January 27, Victoria Ann Buol, 27, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.

Buol previously pled guilty to two counts of destruction of a motor vehicle and one count of possession of a stolen firearm.

The charges stem from an April 7, 2016, police pursuit that began when a Boone County Sheriff’s Department sergeant spotted a Jeep that had been reported stolen at the Midway Travel Center in Columbia, Missouri.

When the sergeant approached the Jeep, Buol and co-defendant Russell Deane Moore, Jr., 27, sped away.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office describes the police pursuit that ensued:

The sergeant pursued the Jeep with his emergency lights active. The Jeep turned onto Highway 40 and, as it was crossing Interstate 70, Moore shot at the sergeant multiple times. The Jeep turned onto Highway UU and stopped at the intersection of Sugar Creek Road.

The sergeant saw Moore exit the Jeep and started shooting at him. Moore got back into the Jeep and the pursuit continued. After the sergeant’s patrol vehicle was struck by at least one bullet, disabling it, other officers continued the pursuit of the stolen Jeep into the southern part of Columbia.

The chase eventually moved onto Interstate 70 East, where officers continued to pursue the stolen Jeep into Callaway County. Throughout the pursuit, multiple shots were fired from the Jeep at various officers. Shots were also fired from the Jeep at four semi-trailer trucks traveling on Interstate 70, nearly striking one of the drivers. The Jeep ran out of gas on County Road 172 in Callaway County and Buol and Moore were arrested. Both Buol and Moore later admitted they drove the Jeep at different times during the pursuit.

Both Buol and Moore said that they fired at semi trucks during the pursuit, hoping to cause a crash that would allow them to escape:

They told investigators that their intent when shooting at semi-trailer trucks on Interstate 70 East was to cause a serious accident, which would terminate the officers’ pursuit and aid in their escape. Two tractor trailers were shot during the pursuit. One of the drivers stopped his vehicle and discovered that his cab was damaged, and there was a 9mm bullet lodged behind the driver’s seat. Another driver told investigators he heard a pop and his truck engine began smoking and overheated. He pulled into a rest stop and called his employer. There was a hole in his tractor grill and the radiator, air cooler and condenser were damaged.

Moore has already been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to the same charges as Buol.