Sentence of 5½ years for man who was high, unlicensed when he caused fatal crash in St. Paul

A St. Paul man has received a term of slightly more than 5½ years for being under the influence of drugs when he caused a two-vehicle crash near the University of St. Thomas in a stolen SUV that killed his passenger.

Devin M. Chase, 31, was sentenced in Ramsey County District Court last week after pleading guilty to criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the collision on Feb. 20 on N. Cretin Avenue near the intersection with Mississippi River Boulevard in St. Paul that killed Randi Lee Stone, 30, of Minneapolis.

With credit for time in jail since his arrest, Chase is expected to serve the first 3⅓ years of his term in prison and the balance on supervised release.

The state Department of Public Safety said Chase was at the wheel at the time of the crash while his driving privileges were revoked.

Court records show his driving history in Minnesota also includes a conviction for criminal vehicular operation for a hit-and-run collision in Blaine in 2015 while suspected of being drunk. The other driver survived her injuries.

He's also been convicted five times for driving while his license was revoked and once for drunken driving as a 19-year-old.

According to the criminal complaint stemming from the fatal crash:

Police sent to the scene seized evidence of drug use inside the vehicle. Chase was on the pavement just outside the SUV. The other driver was not hurt.

Witnesses reported seeing two women flee from Chase's vehicle. He claimed that Stone's sister was driving at the time of impact.

The SUV was stolen on Feb. 8 from outside a home in the 1100 block of Cushing Circle in St. Paul and had its license plates switched. Chase later told police he had been living out of the SUV with two other people and assumed it had been stolen.

He said he and others had driven to northeast Minneapolis that morning and bought methamphetamine and heroin before driving around all day smoking the drugs.