Clearwater Man Accused of Leading Three Police Departments on a Wild Chase July 4th

(KNSI) — A 34-year-old Clearwater man was arrested after allegedly fighting with police in St. Cloud and leading officers from three other departments on a chase while driving a stolen car with a revoked license.

According to the criminal complaint, St. Cloud police found Justin Johnson slumped over in a parked car on July 4th. Officers say they saw drug paraphernalia and a bottle of vodka in the car and tried to wake him up, but he struggled with them and then sped away, driving through a grassy area and over a curb. Later that afternoon, someone called in a complaint about the Honda Johnson was driving. When police pulled up behind him on Highway 10 in Big Lake, they say he tried to flee, doing a U-turn at an intersection, plowing over the median, and then began heading west in the eastbound lanes of Highway 10. They say he made evasive maneuvers going through parking lots, a road closed sign, and a grass ditch before getting back on Highway 10. Elk River police and the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office joined the pursuit, eventually using stop sticks to puncture the tires. Riding on its rims, the car ended up in the ditch, and police say he then fled on foot. When officers caught up with him, they said he had ingested drugs, so they took him to a hospital before he was booked into the Sherburne County jail.

The criminal complaint says the car Johnson was driving was stolen from an auto repair business in Cannon Falls on June 16th, and Johnson’s driving privileges were taken away earlier this year.

He is charged with fleeing police, receiving stolen property, and driving after suspension. Bail was set at $100,000 without conditions or $25,000 with.

No one was hurt.

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