The redhead who led LAPD on a wild 110mph car chase that ended with her plunging into the Pacific has been seen for the first time since the incident in exclusive footage from DailyMail.com.
Jessica Reynolds, 39, has been locked up at the Century Regional Detention Center since her case was referred to mental health court two weeks ago and criminal proceedings were suspended.
Lawyers for the mother of two had successfully argued that she was suffering a “psychotic episode” during the bizarre incident early in the morning of March 16.
At the end of the chase, which was filmed by horrified beachgoers, Reynolds raced his silver BMW along the sand at Venice Beach before plunging into the waves, leaving his two Boston terriers, Rebel and Jewel, in the sinking vehicle.
Jessica Reynolds, 39, has been locked up at the Century Regional Detention Center since her case was referred to mental health court two weeks ago and criminal proceedings were suspended.
After opening the driver’s door, Reynolds frantically attempted to swim away from the officers.
Instead of stopping, police say Reynolds took off and eventually headed straight into the ocean at Venice Beach.
Reynolds then swam out to sea and was picked up by a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s boat, arrested and taken to the hospital on a 5150 psychiatric warrant.
The 39-year-old was later charged with one felony count of evading police while disregarding safety and two counts of animal cruelty. She could face up to three years in prison if convicted.
But during a hearing in Hollywood Mental Health Court on Wednesday, Reynolds was found mentally fit to stand trial, and Judge Robert Harrison sent her case back to the criminal system.
The 39-year-old was later charged with one felony count of evading police while disregarding safety and two counts of animal cruelty. She could face up to three years in prison if convicted.
Reynolds, who appeared disheveled in a pair of blue sweatpants and a bright yellow T-shirt provided by the Los Angeles County jail, did not speak during the brief appearance and looked down at her feet as she was led into court.
He faces another hearing Thursday in El Monte, a suburb 15 miles east of Los Angeles, where Judge Robert Villeza will decide how to proceed with the case.
His lawyer, Saiid Arjomand, declined to comment when contacted by DailyMail.com outside court.
Reynolds had previously pleaded not guilty to the charges and his former attorney Alan Gonzalez told the court the incident was “a cry for help.”
He explained: “He was having a psychotic episode. He drove his car into the ocean. It could be interpreted as a cry for help. No one was hurt… and the dogs were rescued.”
Gonzalez said that before the incident, Reynolds had been in a “toxic relationship” involving drugs and had gone through a divorce in which she had lost custody of her son.
Reynolds, looking disheveled in a pair of blue sweatpants and a bright yellow T-shirt provided by the Los Angeles County jail, did not speak during the brief appearance and looked down at her feet as she was led into court.
Reynolds had previously pleaded not guilty to the charges and his former attorney Alan Gonzalez told the court the incident was “a cry for help.”
Reynolds, who had just arrived in California at the time of the accident, later moved to Oregon, where she lived in a Christian residential rehabilitation center and worked at an Oregon warehouse for $22 an hour before being held on $50,000 bail during her last court appearance.
The strange series of events that led to Reynolds’ arrest began late on the night of March 15 in El Monte, where police attempted to pull her over for speeding.
Instead of stopping, police say Reynolds, who has multiple recent convictions for speeding and fleeing police in his native New Mexico, took off.
Heading west, he eventually reached Washington Boulevard in Venice, which ends near the Venice Pier, and headed straight for the ocean just a couple of minutes after midnight.
The 39-year-old man was charged with one felony count of evading police with disregard for safety and two counts of animal cruelty.
After opening the driver’s door, Reynolds frantically tried to swim away from the officers until the rescue boat tossed him a float that he was able to grab onto to safely climb aboard.
Rescuers managed to save the two-year-old Boston Terriers before the SUV was swept away by the current, according to a police report.
The next morning, beachgoers who knew nothing of the incident arrived to find a car being towed from the water to land.
The front window was shattered and mounds of sand could be seen on the front and back seat. Skid marks could also be seen in the sand.
When DailyMail.com spoke to Reynolds’ ex-husband, Michael Hufstedler, 44, he revealed that just last July, the two had finalised a messy and lengthy divorce in which he was awarded sole custody of their 12-year-old son.
“We were completely in love. I thought I had found the woman of my life,” said Hufstedler, who ran a real estate appraisal business with Reynolds in Alto, New Mexico.
“He cheated on me with one of the people who worked for me. Then he threatened to commit suicide. I live in another state now, I’ve completely retired.”
Hufstedler added that the two dogs involved in the incident are hers, though there was no mention of who should keep the animals following the divorce.
She was seen paddling in the water as officers aboard a Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department boat attempted to rescue her by tossing a floating donut into the ocean.
One of the dogs managed to get out of the vehicle and swim to shore while the second was rescued by law enforcement.
Her ex, Michael Hufstedler, claimed that the two dogs involved in the chase were his. The two-year-old Boston Terriers, Rebel and Jewel, were taken into custody by Animal Control after being rescued at the scene and are currently being held at a shelter in West Los Angeles.
As for Reynolds’ previous troubles with the law in New Mexico, he pleaded guilty in October 2019 to a criminal charge of speeding more than 30 mph over the limit. The case was adjourned and dismissed, according to court records.
She pleaded guilty to a September 2020 charge of resisting an officer, which was again adjourned and dismissed, though the court later issued a warrant for her arrest after she failed to pay her fine and fees.
In November last year, Reynolds pleaded guilty to driving 16 to 20 miles per hour over the limit without providing proof of insurance. Once again, the charges were postponed and dismissed.
Another arrest warrant was issued in December of last year after she failed to appear at a court hearing, but by January she had complied with all her legal obligations, according to the file.
Reynolds was also charged last November with reckless driving and “leaving the scene of an accident resulting in damage to a vehicle.” But she has not yet entered a plea in that case, according to court records.
