Man Charged After Allegedly Leading Police on a Miles Long Pursuit

(KNSI) — A 33-year-old Bloomington man accused of leading police on a miles-long chase at speeds of 100 miles an hour has been charged.

According to the criminal complaint filed in Stearns County, just before 1:00 Friday morning, a Waite Park police officer stopped a driver in a pickup truck near the intersection of 10th Avenue South and Parkway Drive for weaving over the center line. That driver, identified in court papers as Santos Ezequiel Gonzales, had bloodshot, watery eyes, slurred speech and appeared to be under the influence. The license plate on the truck was also not on file, but the VIN was registered to Gonzales, who had a warrant out for his arrest.

Court documents say the officer asked Gonzales to get out of the truck to do field sobriety tests, but he refused and sped away. Other officers and neighboring jurisdictions joined in the pursuit with speeds ranging from 40 to 100 miles an hour. The chase entered Wright County, where deputies had laid spike strips on Highway 55; police say Gonzales actively avoided them before hitting a second set west of Buffalo and crashing into a ditch in Rockford Township. The criminal complaint says Gonzales bailed on foot and ran across a field before surrendering.

The inside of the truck, police say, smelled like alcohol, and they found six empty bottles of Fireball whisky, 15 clear zip top bags and drug paraphernalia.

Gonzales has been charged with two counts of fleeing police, one count of DWI and one count of driving after revocation.

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