16-year-old in stolen car leads officers on 28-mile chase

A 16-year-old with a criminal past who was suffering from previous gunshot wounds and driving a stolen car led law enforcement on a 28-mile chase early Tuesday before he was arrested in St. Paul.

Charges are pending against the boy, who according to the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office has nine previous arrests for fleeing police, possession of weapons by a person under 18, motor vehicle theft and assault. He was also on probation in Carver County for possession of stolen property and possession of a firearm, the sheriff's office said.

Sheriff Bob Fletcher, who is running for re-election, seized on the incident Wednesday to ask legislators to call a special legislative session to address crime.

"The fire is burning," Fletcher said at a news conference. "We don't have five to six months to wait to curb what is happening."

Car thefts and carjackings have been on the rise in the Twin Cities and across the nation, fueled partly by a social media challenge encouraging teens and young adults to steal KIA and Hyundai vehicles. A Star Tribune analysis of police data from Minneapolis and St. Paul shows that automobile thefts have jumped about 35% in Minneapolis and 28% in St. Paul compared to last year.

The trend is entangled with the ongoing challenge of addressing juvenile crime in Minnesota: A recent Star Tribune series found that even after children are charged and prosecuted in county courts, they continue to reoffend at alarmingly high rates.

The 16-year-old boy, whose identity has not been disclosed, allegedly took the vehicle from the 1800 block of Berkeley Avenue in St. Paul. An officer spotted the stolen KIA when the driver raced past him at 12:45 a.m. in the area of Rice Street and Hatch Avenue. St. Paul officers did not pursue the KIA, but Ramsey County deputies who were nearby did, according to police spokesperson Mike Ernster.

Deputies backed off as the driver weaved in and out of traffic as he traveled north on I-35E, east on Maryland Avenue and onto neighborhood streets. A State Patrol helicopter was called in to allow troopers to watch from above as the suspect then drove to Minneapolis and back to St. Paul, authorities said.

The teen stopped on the 700 block of Sherburne Avenue, exited the car and tried to run from police on foot. St. Paul police officers captured him a few blocks away, Ernster said.

Deputies said the teen had a GPS monitoring bracelet on his ankle and seemed to be in pain when arrested. The teen said he had been injured in two different shootings on two different days earlier this month, the sheriff's office said.

The boy was taken to Regions Hospital where he was treated for gunshot wounds to his stomach and leg. After he was released, the teen was booked into the Ramsey County Juvenile Detention Center, authorities said.

The case, Fletcher said, underscores the urgency of the metro's crime problem.

He sent a letter Wednesday to state House and Senate leadership and DFL Gov. Tim Walz asking for the special session, writing that "we owe it to future victims to move quickly to protect them." The sheriff is asking lawmakers to appropriate money for recruiting more officers and opening detention centers.

Though a request from a county sheriff is unlikely to trigger a special session, Walz and legislative leaders responded Wednesday that they share Fletcher's concerns about crime.

"The Governor echoes the Sheriff's concerns and shares his sense of urgency to address crime," said Claire Lancaster, Walz's press secretary, in a statement. "The Governor has said many times that he is ready to call a special session to pass his $300 million plan that would help every police department in the state hire more officers — but he can't act unless Senate Republicans are willing to come back to the table."

Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller, R-Winona, said in a statement that the Senate "was proud to pass legislation providing resources to recruit and retain more police officers, get tough on violent criminals, and provide for safer communities," and was "disappointed" that Walz and House DFLers didn't follow suit.

House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, said in a statement that after leadership meetings throughout the legislative session and a bipartisan agreement in May that included public safety investments, Miller "said he was not interested in a special session under any circumstances and would not be making any counter offers."

"I remain just as willing today to participate in a special session to move forward on these issues for the people of Minnesota," Hortman said.