First local conviction secured under Valentine’s law

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- A man has been convicted in a first-of-its-kind case in Buchanan County following the implementation of a new law.

Gabriel Paredes, 24, of Houston was found guilty this week on a charge of aggravated fleeing in a motor vehicle involving a Jan. 2 incident. It is the first case brought to jury trial by the Buchanan County Prosecutor’s Office under “Valentine’s law,” a new state statute signed into law in August 2024 that increases penalties for those who flee from police after a stop. Fleeing is now a felony and carries a minimum sentence of at least one year with no provisions for early release.

The law honors a St. Louis County police officer who was killed when his vehicle was hit by a fleeing driver.

According to a probable cause statement, Paredes fled from a St. Joseph police officer at a high rate of speed before failing to stop at a stop sign and crashing into an embankment. Paredes and the occupants of his vehicle then fled on foot from the officers.

Paredes will be sentenced on Monday, May 19.