ALBERT LEA, Minn. — A Twin Cities man is in custody following a chase that started in Albert Lea and ended in northern Iowa Wednesday.
Albert Lea Police say squads were dispatched to the parking lot of Market Foods on reports of a suspected impaired driver passed out in his vehicle. When officers arrived they found a red Jeep Renegade and a man in the driver's seat who appeared to be under the influence.
The suspect shut off the vehicle when asked by officers, but while he was being questioned the 30-year-old St. Paul man started the Jeep and took off, driving across a landscape barrier and striking a vehicle. He then sped away, leading Albert Lea Police and Minnesota State Troopers on a pursuit that wound across several southern Minnesota highways at speeds over 100 miles per hour, at times intentionally driving on the wrong side of the road.
During the pursuit the suspect intentionally hit an Albert Lea squad car, and authorities say he also aimed his vehicle directly at a Freeborn County deputy who was trying to deploy stop sticks.
After crossing over the Iowa border into Worth County the suspect allegedly displayed a handgun from the window of the vehicle. He eventually pulled the Jeep over next to another vehicle that had pulled off the road and attempted to carjack the female driver. A deputy from Freeborn County fired three shots through the windshield of the woman's car to stop the carjacking. The man, who was not struck by any of the shots, then dropped to the ground and was taken into custody.
Investigators soon learned that the Jeep was listed as stolen out of St. Louis Park, and the man was wanted on outstanding warrants in Hennepin, Dakota and Washington Counties. There was drug paraphernalia inside the stolen vehicle.
The suspect is currently behind held in the Worth County jail pending charges in both Iowa and Minnesota.
