A Minneapolis felon has pleaded guilty in federal court to two counts of carjacking and one count of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger last week.
Donovan Alan Goodman, 33, was the driver of a stolen vehicle involved in a Ramsey County pursuit in January during which a puppy was thrown from the vehicle window. After the vehicle was disabled by a law enforcement PIT maneuver, Goodman escaped by carjacking another motorist on the freeway. He remained on the run and carjacked an Uber driver at gunpoint in downtown Minneapolis a month later when police attempted to apprehend him.
According to court documents and dispatch audio from the various incidents, on Jan. 30, 2023, a Ramsey County sheriff’s deputy attempted to initiate a traffic stop in Little Canada on a Ford F150, which was later revealed to be stolen. The driver, later identified as Goodman, fled the deputy, driving in the wrong lanes of traffic, above posted speed limits, and evading stop sticks. Law enforcement officers ultimately disabled the vehicle using a PIT maneuver.
The driver fled from the vehicle and jumped over a freeway lane barrier on I-694 where he pointed a gun at another driver and yelled, “Get the [expletive] out of the car,” and carjacked their vehicle. Goodman was not captured at the time. However, the carjacked vehicle, which was subsequently recovered, had an installed dash camera that captured the entire incident.
It was also later determined that while the original vehicle had been fleeing the Ramsey County deputy, a puppy had been thrown from the vehicle by one of the occupants as an attempted distraction. The dog was rescued the following morning by Ramsey County sheriff’s deputies who had identified from video that something had been thrown from the vehicle.
Several weeks later, on Feb. 25, 2023, at approximately 4:23 a.m., officers with the Minneapolis Police Department attempted to conduct a traffic stop of a stolen vehicle parked in a downtown Minneapolis parking lot. Goodman and another male, who were standing near the vehicle, immediately fled on foot and officers pursued. One officer deployed a taser to subdue Goodman, who initially fell to the ground, rolled over and then pointed a handgun with a red laser sight in the direction of the officer. The officer immediately took cover and Goodman escaped on foot.
Shortly thereafter, a carjacking victim flagged down responding law enforcement officers and reported that he was an Uber driver and had just picked up two passengers in downtown Minneapolis when a man, later determined to be Goodman, approached the vehicle and offered the occupants $100 to let him join the Uber ride. One of the occupants agreed and opened the door. Once inside the vehicle, Goodman pulled out a firearm with a red laser and pointed it at the back of the driver’s head and ordered everyone out of the vehicle. The driver and the two occupants complied, and Goodman fled in the vehicle.
Goodman was tracked down later that day at a residence in St. Paul where he was taken into custody utilizing a St. Paul SWAT team operation.
Goodman has at least 16 prior state convictions including felonies for auto theft, escape from custody, third-degree narcotics sales, first-degree burglary while armed with a dangerous weapon or explosive, and second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. Goodman is prohibited from possessing firearms.
A sentencing hearing for Goodman has not yet been scheduled.
Two of Goodman’s accomplices in the January stolen vehicle fleeing incident, Chue Feng Yang and Raylean Chastity Gurneau, were subsequently involved in a north Minneapolis standoff in April when federal agents attempted to apprehend Yang, 33, who was also accused of carjacking a separate vehicle following the January Ramsey County pursuit. He had been on the run since the incident.
Yang was shot and killed during the standoff by a federal agent when he exited the house strapped to his girlfriend, Gurneau, 26, both of whom appeared to be armed in a livestream video Yang was recording during the incident.
Gurneau was also wanted on warrants at the time of the north Minneapolis standoff and fatal police shooting and was subsequently taken into custody. She is facing a raft of charges in Ramsey County related to the January pursuit including four counts of felony and gross misdemeanor animal cruelty, mistreatment, torture, and abandonment for throwing the puppy, “Taho,” out the window of the vehicle during the pursuit. She is also charged with fleeing police and making a false 911 call during the incident in an attempt to distract officers from the pursuit. Gurneau is charged separately in another case with felony auto theft.
Taho had been in the care of rehabbers since his rescue by Ramsey County deputies in January, but sadly, Taho was subsequently euthanized. The rescue organization that was working with Taho described that he had several bite and aggression incidents following his rescue. They said that Taho had been abused during the entirety of his life culminating with being thrown from the vehicle. His rescuers said they felt his trauma could not be overcome and could not risk someone being harmed in the future.
Heartbreaking news. "Taho," the puppy thrown from the vehicle by that evil trash ratchet during the pursuit in January has been euthanized.
Taho had been abused during the entirety of his life culminating with being thrown from a vehicle.
His rescuers said his trauma could not… pic.twitter.com/3KN5gpzb3s— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) April 20, 2023
Information about Gurneau’s current custody status was not able to be immediately obtained. Gurneau’s two Ramsey County cases are scheduled for jury trial in August.
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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.
