CARVER COUNTY, Minn. — The Bloomington woman involved in a police pursuit and standoff Tuesday in Chanhassen was charged Thursday with four felony counts.
Carver County prosecutors charged 33-year-old Amanda Nelson with two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle in connection with the incident. Nelson is also charged with one count of fugitive from justice from another state, stemming from an arrest warrant previously filed in Illinois.
According to the criminal complaint, Nelson first got on police radar in the city of Excelsior, when a South Lake Minnetonka police officer ran her vehicle's plates. The complaint said the officer learned Nelson was wanted on an active warrant for a handful of charges, including aggravated battery, in the state of Illinois.
Court documents said police attempted a traffic stop, and when Nelson refused to pull over, officers initiated a chase heading westbound down Highway 7. When Nelson eventually turned south onto Highway 41 toward Chanhassen, the complaint said officers performed an unsuccessful pit maneuver in an attempt to disable Nelson's vehicle.
As she continued down Highway 41, prosecutors said officers attempted another pit maneuver, leading Nelson's vehicle to spin out. Ultimately, she regained control, driving down an embankment and into the parking lot of a restaurant.
While the vehicle was spinning, officials say Nelson pointed what they believed was a black handgun at them through her driver's side window. Court documents said in footage from one of the officer's body-worn camera, he can be heard yelling, "Gun, gun, gun! She's got a gun!"
The complaint said that's when officers attempted yet another pit maneuver, but Nelson was able to continue driving. Police were still in pursuit as Nelson forced them to continue behind her around various area businesses.
Eventually officers performed another pit maneuver, leaving Nelson's vehicle spinning out in front of a squad. As one of the officers went to exit his vehicle, the complaint said Nelson started driving toward him. The officer then reentered his vehicle, according to the complaint, before he saw Nelson point the handgun directly at him.
Prosecutors went on to say the officer ducked before firing five shots through the windshield of his squad. It was then that Nelson fled once more, again driving southbound down Highway 41.
Authorities said one final pit maneuver was completed on Nelson's vehicle just south of the highway's intersection with 82nd Street. As a result of the maneuver, Nelson was involved in a rollover crash.
After an almost four-and-a-half-hour standoff, prosecutors said Nelson was finally removed from her vehicle by law enforcement and taken into custody.
After her arrest, court documents claim police recovered a knife from Nelson's pocket and a black Smith & Wesson handgun from her overturned vehicle located near the driver's side window.
If convicted on all charges, Nelson faces a maximum penalty of more than 20 years in prison.
She remains in custody at the Carver County Jail.
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