Charges Filed After High-Speed Chase Ends in Hugo
BY MN CRIME STAFF
A 35-year-old man is being held on felony charges for fleeing in a motor vehicle after a Ramsey County chase and crash Sunday afternoon.
Prosecutors say he led deputies on an 11-mile pursuit through multiple cities before crashing and running from his vehicle near the Hugo City Hall, in Washington County, before being taken into custody.
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Mitchell William Sprick, of Centerville, is charged with felony fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle following a Jan. 11 incident that began on Interstate 35W near Centerville and ended in Hugo. Sprick is expected to make an initial court appearance on Wednesday.
According to the criminal complaint, a Ramsey County deputy was driving northbound on I-35W around 2:25 p.m. when a driver with a broken taillight passed at a high rate of speed, making multiple abrupt lane changes without signaling. The deputy followed the vehicle onto County Road J in Shoreview and attempted to initiate a traffic stop near Lexington Avenue by activating emergency lights. The driver did not stop and instead accelerated away.
Authorities say the pursuit continued through Ramsey County as the vehicle traveled north on Centerville Road and then east on Main Street in Centerville. When the vehicle crossed Interstate 35E near Oneka Parkway, it entered the wrong lane of traffic. For safety reasons, the deputy discontinued the pursuit but continued following from a distance.
READ MORE > Ramsey County coverage
The vehicle later traveled west on 147th Street before leaving the roadway. A Washington County deputy located the vehicle in a ditch on the 14000 block of Finale Road a short time later.
Witnesses told deputies they saw a heavyset white male wearing a black hoodie and gray sweatpants run east from the crash site toward Centerville City Hall. Deputies established a perimeter, and a K9 unit began tracking near City Hall. The suspect was located and taken into custody about three blocks east of City Hall.
The man was identified as Sprick, who investigators say had an active Department of Corrections warrant at the time of his arrest.
Sprick declined to participate in a formal interview, but deputies noted in the complaint that he made statements describing other times he had fled from police in what was characterized as a “bragging” manner.
READ MORE > Washington County coverage
After being booked into the Law Enforcement Center, Sprick made several recorded phone calls. During one call with a woman, Sprick said, “I apologized on the phone while I was driving.” In another call, he said, “B****, I just lost a $3,000 car because of you.” While waiting for a call to connect, Sprick was also heard telling another inmate, “I got into a high-speed chase, got away and still got caught.”
Court records show Sprick has prior felony convictions that include fleeing police in a motor vehicle, multiple second-degree drug offenses and numerous driving offenses.
Sprick is charged with felony fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle, which carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison. He remains in custody at the Ramsey County Jail pending further court proceedings.
