ANOKA, Minn. - A Brooklyn Park man is now charged with four felonies after authorities say he shot someone and led police on a chase that reached speeds of more than 130 miles per hour.
A criminal complaint details the charges of first degree assault against a peace officer, second degree assault, being a felon in possession of a firearm and fleeing a police officer levied against 24-year-old Castle Rogers Ahlbeck.
The incident began shortly before 12:30 p.m. Nov. 17 when Anoka County deputies were dispatched to a gas station-convenience store just off Highway 65 in East Bethel on reports of shots fired. The victim, who called 911, told them that Ahlbeck was the man who had shot him in the leg. He said the defendant had fled the scene in a black Audi.
Law enforcement spotted Ahlbeck a short time later driving down Viking Boulevard and a pursuit ensued. Police say the defendant led them on a 16-minute chase that wound through a number of communities and neighborhoods at speeds topping 130 miles per hour. At one point Ahlbeck allegedly drove at an officer who was trying to lay down stop sticks, trying to run him over.
Eventually a Coon Rapids Police officer used his squad car to make contact with the speeding Audi and steer the suspect vehicle into the median. From there Ahlbeck jumped out of the vehicle and tried to escape on foot, eventually getting shot by another Coon Rapids officer and taken into custody.
Investigators who questioned the victim of the East Bethel incident say he told them that the shooting followed a drug deal. They searched Ahlbeck's car and found a stash of methamphetamine.
A search of Ahlbeck's record revealed a conviction for second degree assault in 2013, an offense that rendered him ineligible to possess a firearm.
The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says Coon Rapids Police Officer Bryan Platz fired his weapon in the incident. He has been with Coon Rapids Police Department for 15 years and is currently on standard administrative leave. Once the BCA investigation is complete, the findings will be turned over to the Anoka County Attorney’s Office for review.
