On December 14, 2025, at approximately 2327 hours, Cottage Grove Police Department Officer Freeman was conducting routine patrol in the city of Cottage Grove, Washington County, Minnesota, when he noticed a vehicle sitting at a stop sign at the exit of Hinton Heights. He drove past the vehicle and continued to watch it in his rear view mirror. Officer Freeman noticed that the vehicle did not leave the above location, and he was able to drive to 70th Street from Hinton Avenue and make a U-turn to go and investigate the vehicle further.
When he conducted the U-turn and reapproached the vehicle, he saw it make a right onto Hinton Avenue from the Hinton Heights complexes and go southbound on Hinton Avenue. While following behind the vehicle, he saw the vehicle swerve all over the road. The vehicle was crossing over both the right and left center lines of the lanes and made a lane change without using a turn signal. The vehicle then proceeded to travel westbound on 80th Street, where Officer Freeman initiated a traffic stop. The vehicle came to a slow stop about 100 feet from where he activated his emergency lights.
The vehicle was in park and Officer Freeman exited his squad and began to approach the suspect vehicle. As he approached the rear bumper of the vehicle, it started to flee westbound on 80th Street from Hemmingway Avenue. Officer Freeman got back into his squad car and began pursuing the vehicle. The vehicle fled westbound on 80th Street and eventually merged onto Highway 61 northbound. While merging onto Highway 61, the vehicle began to smoke heavily. As it traveled northbound, the speed was initially 60 miles per hour, but it gradually decreased in speed.
The vehicle came to a stop in between 70th and 80th Street in the right lane, where the passenger of the vehicle bailed out of the car and fled on foot into the wood line to the east of the stop location. The passenger was later apprehended and subsequently identified as DONTRA MARCUS KELLY [DOB REDACTED]. As Kelly was fleeing, Officer Freeman observed him throw a handgun onto the ground. Officer Freeman turned his attention to the passenger, who was later identified as ERIC MAURICE HOLLIDAY [DOB REDACTED]. He observed Holliday climb from the driver's seat over the center console into the passenger side, where the door was open from Kelly having fled from the car.
Officer Freeman apprehended Holliday and removed him from the vehicle, and placed him under arrest. Once Holliday was in custody, officer began to track the whereabouts of Kelly. Officer Graff arrived on scene with his K9 partner and they were eventually able to locate Kelly approximately 30 to 45 minutes later, laying in the snow under pine trees in the backyard of a residence on Goodview Bay South. Kelly was placed under arrest and transported to the hospital for treatment of possible hypothermia.
