A man supposedly participating in a “diversion program” on suspended charges of auto theft and fleeing police has been charged in a similar case following a horrific high-speed crash last week.
Thailand Taiwan Hawkins, 19, of north Minneapolis, has been charged with several felony counts related to last Friday’s T-bone crash of a stolen vehicle into a Minnesota state trooper’s vehicle, seriously injuring the trooper and occupants of the stolen vehicle.
Friday’s crash played out live on Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s “Live on Patrol” streaming broadcast as deputies tracked a stolen vehicle into Minneapolis that had been taunting law enforcement for a couple of days.
The suspect vehicle ran a stop sign at high speed near 46th and Aldrich Avenue South and slammed into the trooper’s squad, sending the squad crashing into a house. The trooper needed to be extricated from the vehicle and was hospitalized with “serious and major injuries,” according to a prior statement to Alpha News from the State Patrol.
The complaint filed in Hennepin County District Court against Hawkins states that the unnamed trooper was hospitalized with a fractured right fibula and fractured left scapula.
Passengers in the suspect vehicle were also injured. One was hospitalized with a compound leg fracture and a significant brain bleed. Another passenger was hospitalized with neck pain, but medical records were still pending at the time the charges were filed.
The complaint describes that Ramsey County deputies had disengaged from active pursuit as the vehicle entered Minneapolis and was being tracked by a State Patrol helicopter.
The stolen vehicle proceeded through the intersection at approximately 80 miles per hour without headlights on as it blew through the stop sign and crashed into the side of a State Patrol vehicle, pinning a trooper inside the car.
Hawkins fled on foot but was apprehended a short distance away. In a post-Miranda statement, Hawkins admitted that it was “fun to drive around in stolen vehicles.”
Hawkins is charged with two counts of criminal vehicular operation involving substantial bodily harm and gross negligence, fleeing police in a vehicle, and receiving stolen property, as well as a gross misdemeanor count of criminal vehicular operation involving bodily harm.
Hawkins made his first court appearance on Wednesday and was granted a public defender. He remains in custody on $250,000 bail, and his next court hearing is scheduled for June 1.
In December, Hawkins was placed into a diversion program under an agreement with the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office to suspend prosecution on felony charges of auto theft, fleeing police, and obstructing the legal process in a case charged last June. Charges in that case describe very similar circumstances to last week’s crash, including fleeing from Robbinsdale police at nearly 100 mph in a stolen vehicle and ultimately crashing in north Minneapolis. Five occupants fled from the vehicle, but Hawkins was captured and was determined to be the driver.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s agreement with Hawkins to suspend prosecution requires him to remain law abiding, among other conditions. Hawkins was placed on unsupervised monitoring without conviction on the charges for a duration of one year. At the time of this report, there’s no indication in the court record that prosecution of that case is being resumed or that a violation of the terms of the agreement has been triggered.
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Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
Crime Watch MN
Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
