VENICE, Ill. – A St. Louis man who allegedly fled from a Madison County Sheriff’s deputy and “briefly became airborne” in a stolen vehicle among other offenses faces multiple felony charges.
Santana J. Leachman, 20, of St. Louis, was charged on May 7, 2026, with a Class 2 felony count of offenses related to motor vehicles, two Class 4 felony counts of aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a peace officer, and one Class 4 felony count of aggravated unlawful possession of weapons.
Leachman was allegedly knowingly in possession of a stolen 2018 Nissan Rogue on Feb. 7, 2026. On the same date, he reportedly knowingly attempted to flee from a Madison County Sheriff’s Deputy who had signaled for Leachman to stop the vehicle.
Leachman is also accused of illegally carrying an ABC Rifle Company AR-15 Micro Mini firearm in a motor vehicle as a person under 21 years of age, as well as disobeying two or more traffic control devices during his attempted flight from the deputy.
According to the state’s petition to deny Leachman’s pretrial release from custody, a Madison County Sheriff’s deputy witnessed an individual driving a vehicle with no registration at about 2:28 a.m. on Feb. 7, 2026 in Venice, Ill. After attempting a stop on the vehicle, the deputy reported seeing the vehicle speed away at over 40 mph in a 20 mph zone before disobeying stop signs at multiple intersections, eventually reaching over 70 mph.
“The defendant then struck railroad tracks and briefly became airborne before making a right-hand turn onto Illinois Route 3 while swerving back and forth over all lanes of traffic while slowing down,” the petition states. “After coming to a complete stop, deputies began to initiate a felony stop when the defendant suddenly took off once more, traveling in excess of 70 mph in a 45 mph zone.”
Deputies then deployed stop sticks and deflated three of the vehicle’s four tires before Leachman continued traveling over the McKinley Bridge into Missouri via I-70. After exiting the highway at East Grand Avenue, he reportedly attempted to drive underneath I-70, then back up the exit ramp while “traveling in the wrong direction.” The vehicle eventually came to an abrupt stop before Leachman exited and began fleeing on foot.
Upon learning the vehicle had been reported stolen out of University City, Mo., and finding the weapon within the vehicle, deputies had the vehicle towed and the weapon processed for further evidence collection, including fingerprints. According to the petition, the Illinois State Police Crime Lab was able to positively identify Leachman using fingerprints left on the weapon. The Madison County Sheriff’s deputy was then able to identify Leachman as the driver of the vehicle based on prior booking photos.
The Madison County Sheriff’s Office presented the case against Leachman, who was ordered remanded to jail for his initial court appearance in this case.
All individuals charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
