110 mph not fast enough for east metro street racer to elude capture

A suspected street racer took on more competition that he bargained for, when police chased him for 20-plus minutes and at speeds touching 110 miles per hour in St. Paul and its suburbs late at night, ending with the man being forced off the road in his 22-year-old Honda and chomped on by a police dog upon arrest, authorities said Wednesday.

The pursuit began about 12:40 a.m. Tuesday as police in Maplewood were breaking up street racing on White Bear Avenue, just around the corner from headquarters, said Deputy Police Chief David Kvam.

A 20-year-old St. Paul man was arrested shortly after 1 a.m. in St. Paul near Johnson Parkway and Maryland Avenue, when a state trooper brought the man's car to a crashing halt with a tactical maneuver and a Maplewood police dog sank its teeth into the suspect in a nearby alley, Kvam said.

The deputy chief said the chase reached speeds of 110 miles per hour and at times traveled on Interstates 694, 35E and 94 in St. Paul and suburbs to its north.

"The pursuit started when an officer tried to stop two vehicles racing one another on White Bear Avenue" between Larpenteur Avenue and County Road B, Kvam said. "The cars split off as the officer signaled them to stop. He was only able to follow and try to stop one. That vehicle, instead of yielding, fled."

Kvam said that "people have been caught racing on White Bear Avenue before, but I wouldn't say it's a destination for such things."

Other than the suspect's bite wounds and dents to the State Patrol cruiser and the 1991 Honda Civic it was chasing, there were no injuries or property damage reported, Kvam said.

The suspect's driving history includes two speeding tickets issued in May and July of 2012. The ticket issued in May was for going 50 mph in a 30 mph zone in Stillwater, a citation that cost him $226.50.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482