St. Francis Man Charged After Burglary, High-Speed Police Chase
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Saint Francis man was formerly charged Friday for taking police on a high-speed chase after an alleged burglary – injuring several people in the process.
Randy Thomas Vaught, 34, was charged by the Anoka County Attorney's office with second-degree burglary and fleeing a police officer.
The criminal complaint says Blaine police responded to a burglary call at about 1:16 p.m. Wednesday at a residence on the 1800 block of 130th Lane Northeast.
The homeowner told police the burglary was interrupted when she arrived home. The suspect ran out of her house and into her garage, then drove off with her pickup truck.
Police located the truck in traffic soon after and tried to pull the driver over, but the suspect fled westbound on Bunker Lake Boulevard.
The chase reached speeds of 111 miles per hour and spanned several miles, with the suspect rear-ending one vehicle, crashing head-on with a second and then side-swiping a third.
The car which the suspect hit head-on contained and woman and her toddler. The woman suffered a sprained shoulder, and her child was scraped from hitting the car seat.
Officers attempted the PIT maneuver three times before stopping Vaught near Bunker Lake Boulevard and Hanson Boulevard in Andover, damaging several squad cars and injuring one officer.
The homeowner was brought to the scene, where she positively identified Vaught as the man she saw leaving her home and stealing her truck. She also identified items inside the truck that were stolen from her home.
Vaught appeared in Anoka County District Court Friday, where his bail was set at $300,000.
His next court appearance is scheduled for May 12, 2015. If convicted, Vaught could face up to 13 years in prison.