Video: 5 Arrested After Fleeing Stolen Vehicle At Gas Station; Vehicle Then Catches On Fire
MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. (WCCO) -- Police say they have taken five suspects into custody after they fled from a reportedly stolen vehicle Monday afternoon. The vehicle was abandoned at a gas station and eventually caught on fire.
The incident began with a Tesla that was reportedly stolen in St. Paul. According to the Mendota Heights Police Department, the thieves eventually dumped the Tesla and got into another car.
That vehicle was pursued by officers. It's believed the vehicle started malfunctioning, so the five suspects stopped at a gas station near Sibley Memorial Highway and Victoria Road, running in different directions.
MnDOT cameras captured the end of the chase and showed what appeared to be as many as three suspects running down a frontage road after abandoning the vehicle.
The cameras also showed the vehicle bursting into flames, and at least one vehicle driving away from it in an attempt to save their own vehicle.
Police said that all suspects were eventually taken into custody, three relatively quickly.
"The other two got pretty far away, and were only caught with the help of the State Patrol helicopter, which spotted them from above," Mendota Heights Police Chief Kelly McCarthy said.