Man Rides Rims In Police Chase From Wis. To Minn.
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A man who told police he was high on meth is locked up the Chisago County Jail, after a two-state police chase that lasted for more than an hour Tuesday night.
Police said the chase started in Wisconsin and ended along Interstate 35W in Lino Lakes, Minn.
The Minnesota State Patrol said they were contacted at 10:20 p.m. about a vehicle that wouldn't stop in Wisconsin and was coming into Minnesota.
The driver, who police identified as 31-year-old Justin Patrick, was a suspect in a home invasion and stalking incident in Amery, Wis. that happened earlier in the day. The woman, 17-year-old Samantha, called 911 after Patrick allegedly came to her door and tried to take her with him.
"I was scared for my life," she said. "I've never been so scared in my life. Scariest thing that's ever happened to me."
She said she never expected Patrick to show up at her door -- she only met him a month ago through a friend. But he knew everything about her.
"He's been watching me, following me, I never knew any of it," she said. "I had no suspicions of anything."
She said he showed up and demanded she go with him, even threatening her with a crowbar. But Samantha stayed strong. Patrick eventually left and Samantha called police.
Officers spotted Patrick in Amery, Wis., but he took off and led them on a long chase.
The Washington County Sheriff's Office, Forest Lake Police, Anoka County Sheriff's Office and the State Patrol tried to stop his vehicle when it came across the border on Highway 8 to I-35, but he didn't slow down. Police estimated that, at one point, he was traveling more than 100 miles per hour.
Officers said they put down stops sticks, which they know Patrick hit, because he drove on the rims of the car for a long time. He couldn't go too fast because of that, but the State Patrol estimates he was going around 50 mph.
They said he never got below 40 mph because that's the threshold for doing the pit maneuver -- a process for stopping his vehicle by tapping it with the squad.
Patrick finally lost control of his car just south of County Road 23 on I-35W and slid right into the median.
Patrick didn't resist arrest, but told police he was high on meth and was taken to Fairview Lakes Medical Center in Wyoming, Minn.
He will likely face charges for fleeing police officers in Minnesota and Wisconsin, as well as the stalking charges of Samantha.
