Assault suspect arrested after leading police on chase through northwestern Minnesota
STARBUCK, Minn. -- An assault suspect is in custody Saturday after allegedly stealing two cars and leading authorities on a chase through multiple northwestern Minnesota counties.
The Starbuck Police Department says officers responded around 3:30 a.m. to a report of an assault with a weapon at the Lakes Area Inn Hotel. Officers found a victim at the hotel severely wounded, and a medical helicopter later brought him to a Twin Cities hospital for treatment.
The suspect, a 41-year-old Columbia Heights man, fled before police arrived at the hotel. When searching for him throughout Starbuck, which is located about about 129 miles northwest of Minneapolis, authorities learned of a stolen vehicle.
According to police, the suspect stole a truck with a boat trailer and drove northwest into Grant County, where he abandoned the vehicle in a cornfield before stealing another car in Elbow Lake.
A witness saw this second car theft and followed the stolen vehicle north into Otter Tail County, where the suspect was apprehended.
The suspect is currently in the Otter Tail County Jail pending several charges. WCCO-TV does not typically name suspects until they've been formally charged.