One police chase, so many charges

If you've been reading Houstonist for a while, you know we can't resist a good car chase story (no, really). And this weekend, there was another one: It started Friday night when Humble police tried to pull a driver over, but he took off, leading cops on a 45-minute high-speed chase that crossed two counties.

Police initially tried to pull the driver, 20-year-old Raffinee Johnson, over on old 1960 at about 8 p.m. Friday. When he fled, he drove west to Atascosita, then north to 1960, then south. The suspect — and the attendant cops — finally made their way to Bellfort and Highway 6, where the suspect sped through parking lots and a neighborhood. That was where things got really scary:

"There were children playing in the street. A mother was holding her baby trying to cross the street. He came probably two feet from hitting her," said eyewitness Tanya Call. "It was extremely scary. I mean, you don't think this is going to happen down your street."

Police finally cornered Johnson and his female passenger (who we bet was really glad she was along for the ride) after Johnson reportedly crashed into a sheriff's car, injuring a deputy. Bad move. Johnson faces an array of charges: aggravated assault of a police officer, felony evading arrest, resisting arrest and marijuana possession — which might explain why he ran away in the first place. The passenger, Claudia Ford, faces assault and possession charges.