UPDATE on Woman Arrested Child Custody Incident in Longview—Klog 100.7 News

Further details have been released about the child custody incident on Tuesday afternoon that left a woman hospitalized and led to an arrest.

Police have identified the driver as 41-year-old Latasha Monk. According to Longview Police Captain Brandon McNew, officers began pursuing a silver Honda Odyssey around 2:20 p.m. after locating the vehicle on Industrial Way near Washington Way. At the time, the victim, Malinda Carpenter, was hanging onto the van’s open driver-side door.

The incident began at Sunset Village in West Longview and escalated into a high-speed chase. During the pursuit, Monk reportedly drove at 60 to 70 miles per hour with both a juvenile passenger inside and Carpenter still clinging to the outside of the vehicle. As Monk turned onto 24th Avenue from Nichols Boulevard, the van’s open side door struck a parked vehicle, causing Carpenter to be crushed between the door and the van before she fell into the road. Officers rendered aid at the scene.

Monk continued driving before stopping in the 500 block of 24th Avenue, where she fled on foot through a residential property. Officers deployed a taser, which was ineffective, but they were able to physically detain her inside a nearby residence.

Investigators say Monk had picked up the child from school earlier in the day and was involved in an ongoing custody dispute with the child’s father. She later went to a home on Morse Park Way under the pretense of allowing a brief visit. During the exchange, Carpenter attempted to stop Monk from leaving by positioning herself in the van’s doorway, prompting Monk to accelerate and flee with Carpenter still partially outside the vehicle.

Monk is now facing charges of felony eluding, vehicular assault, reckless endangerment, and resisting arrest. The child was not harmed.