A 16-year-old suspect in a stolen Kia led Ramsey County deputies on a 28-mile chase across Minneapolis and St. Paul early Tuesday morning. When police caught up with him, they found he had two untreated gunshot wounds from two different shooting incidents earlier in the month, and he was wearing an ankle monitor.
The pursuit began just before 1 a.m. Tuesday after a squad in St. Paul first spotted the stolen vehicle near Pennsylvania Avenue and Rice Street traveling at a high rate of speed, according to dispatch audio.
Dispatch audio at the time described the vehicle fleeing from St. Paul and into Minneapolis, down West River Parkway, then taking a pass by George Floyd Square at 38th and Chicago Avenue before getting back onto 35W northbound and back over to St. Paul. With assistance from a State Patrol flight operator, police finally caught up with the suspect on the 500 block of Grotto Avenue after he bailed from the vehicle and continued to flee on foot.
The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office posted an update on Facebook later Tuesday morning detailing the events:
“This is a story about great policework.
It also includes a 16-year-old male fleeing police in a stolen Kia while suffering from two gunshot wounds, which he suffered earlier this month. In two different shooting incidents.
It started this morning, 45 minutes after midnight. That’s when a Saint Paul police officer on patrol got on the radio and said the driver of a stolen Kia fled from him at a high rate of speed.
One of our deputies was nearby and quickly located the stolen Kia. The deputy hit his lights and siren. The driver of the Kia took off, recklessly careening in and out of traffic northbound on I35E. Then east on Maryland, south on Westminister and east on Rose.
Our deputy kept an eye on the suspect until the State Patrol helicopter got overhead. Then the deputy backed off and let the pilot go to work.
The suspect continued fleeing for 28 miles—with Trooper 5 following above—into Minneapolis and back to Saint Paul. Then, the Kia came to a sudden stop on the 700 block of Sherburne Avenue. The suspect got out and ran. He didn’t get far—and it’s a good thing, too, because he’d been shot. Twice.
When our deputies caught up with the 16-year-old male on the 500 block of Grotto, they noticed two things:
1) He had a GPS monitoring bracelet on his ankle.
2) He seemed to be in pain.
The suspect told them he had a gunshot wound to his stomach and another to his leg. He said the shootings happened on two different days, at two different locations.
Neither injury appeared to have been treated.
Deputies rendered aid and called for medics, who transported him to Regions Hospital, where he received world-class care. Then he was booked into the juvenile detention center.
Thankfully, the young man got the medical help he needed. He’s now recovering in a jail cell. But, he does have some legal issues to clean up. In addition to nine previous arrests for fleeing, possession of weapons by a person under 18, motor vehicle theft and assault, he’s also on probation in Carver County for possession of stolen property and possession of a firearm.
And now he faces new charges.
The Kia will be returned to its rightful owner. The suspect is in custody. And this is just one more example of how Minnesota’s law enforcement agencies are working together to keep our cities, counties and state safe.”
Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher on Wednesday held a press conference calling on Gov. Tim Walz to convene a special legislative session to fund public safety initiatives.
Fletcher said, “We have a crisis in the metropolitan area regarding crime,” and said law enforcement can’t wait until next June following the next regular session for funding to address officer recruitment and retention needs as well as special enforcement teams to make arrests.
Fletcher noted that the Minneapolis Police Department is down 300 officers. “You cannot curb crime without the bodies and the resources to make that happen,” he said. “Everything that happens in Minneapolis impacts the rest of the metropolitan area.” Fletcher said he can’t even get his wife to go with him to downtown Minneapolis for sporting events and dining “because of the current crime trends.”
Fletcher wants part of the state’s $12 billion surplus to be used to address public safety initiatives. He requested a special session to follow the upcoming Nov. 8 election and before newly elected representatives take office in January, but a special session seems unlikely at this point since current representatives couldn’t come to an agreement on a public safety spending bill in the last session.
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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.
