A driver ran from a crashed Subaru after leading law enforcement on a high-speed chase through Sherburne County, leaving behind meth, cash and loaded guns.
Vernon Paul Spoden, 44, of Crystal, faces seven charges: fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle, 2nd-degree drug possession, possessing ammunition or a firearm after a felony conviction, refusing a chemical test, driving without required restrictions, driving after cancellation for public safety reasons and fleeing a peace officer by a means other than a motor vehicle.
According to the complaint, a reporting party called dispatch to report a red Subaru swerving, running red lights and heading east on Highway 10 near Proctor Avenue. The reporting party followed the Subaru and flagged down law enforcement as the vehicle sped away, failed to stop at a stop sign and attempted to evade a traffic stop.
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Officers pursued the Subaru as it made abrupt turns and eventually crashed into a curb, left the roadway and stopped in a grassy area. A white male exited the vehicle and ran from officers, stumbling and appearing intoxicated before falling face first onto the road. Officers chased the man and found him hiding under a deck at a nearby residence, where he was taken into custody and identified as Spoden.
Inside the Subaru, officers found an open can of beer and drug paraphernalia in plain sight. A search turned up $2,216 in a Nintendo Switch case and a baggie of white crystal-like substance under the driver’s seat.
Officers also found $1,176 in Spoden’s jeans, suspected methamphetamine weighing 29.08 grams in a Ziplock bag, marijuana in a prescription container, an empty Budweiser can, a digital scale, an open bottle of whisky and a black backpack containing a tube with $11,000 in cash.
Additional items included a box with pipes and paraphernalia, a thermos with $29,926 in cash, a tool holder with multiple baggies of white powder and crystal substance and a camouflage pouch with a loaded .22 caliber revolver and three rifles.
In total, officers recovered about $44,318 in cash and about 30.74 grams of methamphetamine, along with marijuana, marijuana wax and 92 rounds of .22 long-rifle ammunition. Officers noted a strong odor of alcohol coming from Spoden, who was transported to the hospital. Law enforcement obtained a warrant for a blood or urine sample and attempted to execute it at 3:20 a.m., but Spoden refused to comply despite repeated attempts.
The complaint notes Spoden has a prior 5th-degree controlled substance conviction and a prior DWI conviction.
The charges were filed Tuesday, June 16. A court date has not yet been set.
About This Charge
Minnesota’s weapons offenses include § 624.713 (felon in possession of a firearm — five-year mandatory minimum for a prior crime of violence), § 609.66 (dangerous weapons, including drive-by shooting at § 609.66 subd. 1e) and § 609.165 (firearm restoration after a felony). Discharge of a firearm within a municipality is charged under § 609.66 subd. 1a.
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Jurisdictional Context
Sherburne County, north of the Twin Cities metro, is served by the Sherburne County Attorney’s Office through the Tenth Judicial District. Felony cases are heard at the Sherburne County Government Center in Elk River.
