COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. — Multiple charges have been filed against a man accused of assaulting a state trooper and fleeing the scene, leading to a multi-agency search and lockdown of St. John's University last week.
The Stearns County Attorney's Office said Devan Dajon Wilson, 29, faces seven charges, including third-degree assault, assault on a peace officer, DWI, fleeing a peace officer, burglary, violent threats and aggravated robbery.
According to a criminal complaint, a state trooper first encountered Wilson in a vehicle parked on the side of I-94 near Avon around 7 a.m. on Nov. 19. The trooper said Wilson was sleeping and there were multiple bottles of alcohol in the car. The complaint states that Wilson gave a false name to the trooper.
In the complaint, the trooper states that Wilson showed impairment on a field sobriety test, then had a result of 0.147 on a breathalyzer test. When the trooper told Wilson he was under arrest for DWI, the complaint states that Wilson punched the trooper in the face and fled the scene in his vehicle.
Medical records later showed the trooper's jaw was fractured in three places, requiring surgery.
After Wilson left the scene, officers from multiple agencies began a search of the area. The criminal complaint states that Albany's police chief spotted the car at about 8 a.m. in a mobile home park and followed the vehicle onto eastbound I-94. As additional squad cars joined the pursuit, the complaint states Wilson's vehicle reached speeds of 90 miles per hour. Stop sticks were used to puncture the vehicle's tires, near the I-94 exit to St. John's University.
According to the complaint, Wilson jumped out of his car and ran into the woods near the university, prompting St. John's to lock down the campus.
Around 11 a.m., authorities were alerted to a burglary at the St. John's Prep dorms, where a suspect matching Wilson's description entered a room and threatened a male victim and stole his clothes, car keys, and a cell phone.
Officers continued to search the area for several hours, until Stearns County deputies and agents from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) spotted Wilson near the site of the burglary around 6:30 p.m. The complaint said Wilson was found hiding beneath a blanket under some stairs. He was taken into custody and brought to St. Cloud Hospital for evaluation before being transferred to the Stearns County Jail.
According to the complaint, Wilson told investigators that he had been drinking and pulled over on the freeway because he was tired. He also admitted to punching the trooper, fleeing the scene, and robbing the victim at the dorms; however, investigators say Wilson also blamed other individuals for criminal behavior, though the complaint said those other people "are not real."
The complaint said Wilson has a criminal history, including past convictions for violent crimes, as well as a pending charge in Ramsey County for allegedly violating a restraining order and threatening to kill a woman and her family members.
Six of the seven counts filed against Wilson are felony charges. No date was given for his next court appearance.
