An 18-year-old Onamia woman faces criminal vehicular homicide charges after hitting a pedestrian and leaving him for dead — and two men were charged with aiding her to avoid arrest.
Gabrielle Madison Jellum appeared Feb. 2 in Mille Lacs County District Court in Milaca, where she was also charged with two felony counts of failing to stop in a traffic collision and failing to notify police of the hit-and-run crash.
Jellum is accused of hitting 20-year-old Chey Amos Garbow of Onamia Dec. 9, 2020, on Virgo Road with her vehicle and then leaving the scene. Garbow was wearing a black winter coat and black pants. Medical examiners determined Garbow died of blunt force trauma due to the pedestrian-vehicle collision.
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According to court records, vehicle debris at the scene led authorities to identify Jellum as the driver as well as the two men who allegedly assisted her in hiding her vehicle following the fatal crash. The men, charged with felony aiding an offender, are Maximus Kane Peebles, 18, of Sauk Rapids, and Gabriel Levi Chips, 25, of Brainerd. Peebles was also in the vehicle at the time of the crash, according to police.
Mille Lacs Tribal Police were called Dec. 9 to the scene of the hit-and-run, where they found debris consistent with a vehicle crash and located Garbow dead in a ditch nearby.
Witnesses traveling in a vehicle north of the road at the time of the crash told police they saw a fast-moving vehicle in the southbound lane, the criminal complaint filed against Jellum stated. The witnesses said the vehicle swerved into the northbound lane to avoid hitting Garbow, who was walking near the centerline of the roadway. The brake lights illuminated briefly before the vehicle continued to travel south. These witnesses then went home and immediately called 911.
Another witness at the scene stated he and Garbow were both intoxicated and walking down Virgo Road. The witness stated he walked into the ditch when he saw the southbound vehicle approaching, but Garbow kept walking in the middle of the roadway. The witness said the vehicle hit Garbow, stopped momentarily, and then he heard a female scream, “Oh my God.” The vehicle then continued to drive away from the scene.
Investigators connected the debris at the scene to a silver Jeep Compass, owned by Jellum. Authorities stated Jellum initially denied her vehicle was involved but eventually admitted to the collision with the victim. She stated she tried to swerve and stop when she saw the victim, but he did not move and there was not enough space for her to stop or swerve. She stated it happened so fast and when she got out and saw the victim she panicked because she didn’t want to go to prison, the complaint stated.
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During the investigation, Peebles and Chips admitted to helping Jellum hide her vehicle at her mother’s residence in Onamia. Peebles then rented a car hauling trailer and moved the Jeep to property near Motley, according to police.
Criminal vehicular homicide carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and/or $20,000 fine. Aiding an offender to avoid arrest carries a maximum prison sentence of three years and/or a $5,000 fine.
Jellum’s next court hearing is Tuesday; Peebles’ is April 27; and Chips’ is May 11. They all will be in front of Judge Mark J. Herzing.
According to court records, Chips has faced charges for a number of offenses. He was arrested Jan. 15 following a vehicle theft in Wahkon, when he allegedly took a vehicle without permission and Mille Lacs Tribal Police located the vehicle and saw there was a warrant out for his arrest. Chips fled from police, traveling more than 70 mph. He exited the vehicle and fled to a nearby residence and hid under a pile of clothes, after which he was arrested. He also has a prior conviction for vehicle theft and two convictions for fleeing in a vehicle. Court documents stated Chips is on a dispositional departure on an aggravated robbery charge from 2017 and he could face 150 months in jail. This is Chips’ fifth new felony case since the dispositional departure.
According to Minnesota law, a dispositional departure occurs when the court orders a disposition other than what the sentencing guidelines recommend.
