Teen driver in fatal Maplewood crash makes first court appearance

The 15-year-old driver in Friday's double-fatal car crash in Maplewood made his first appearance Tuesday in Ramsey County Juvenile Court, according to a Ramsey County Attorney's Office spokesman.

The boy faces two counts of criminal vehicular homicide, one count of fleeing a police officer, and three counts of criminal vehicular operation, said spokesman Dennis Gerhardstein.

The crash Friday afternoon near Chamber Street and Larpenteur Avenue in Maplewood killed Marcoz Paramo, 14, and Alyjah Thomas, 15. Both were students at North High School in North St. Paul.

The boys were two of the six people riding in a car that Ramsey County sheriff's deputies suspected was stolen; it was first spotted about 3:40 p.m. when a deputy tried to stop the vehicle at N. Beebe Road and E. Holloway Avenue near the border of North St. Paul and Maplewood.

The driver fled, heading south on Beebe Road and then west on Larpenteur Avenue. Deputies lost sight of the car before it crashed, according to the sheriff's office. The badly mangled vehicle could be seen for hours afterward in a resident's front lawn at the intersection.

Three people ran from the car after the crash; two were captured a short time later. A phone call to the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office's spokesperson on Tuesday asking if the third person was captured was not returned.

Ramsey County Board Chair Toni Carter commented on the deaths at the conclusion of Tuesday's board meeting, saying the board sends its sympathies to the victim's families and to the Ramsey County deputies involved.

"Certainly, in our moment of mindfulness, I know we are thinking of them and will continue to do so as we explore and get additional information regarding that accident," she said.

High-speed pursuits put the board at odds last November with Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher after Fletcher filmed himself chasing a suspect through St. Paul for his "Live on Patrol" show on Facebook. Board Member Jim McDonough criticized Fletcher at the time, saying the chase put too many people at risk.

Fletcher defended his actions by arguing that criminals are emboldened when they're not chased.

Fletcher's stance on the subject puts him at odds with the St. Paul Police Department, which said at the time that it generally doesn't engage in chases for stolen cars. The department has other tools, such as surveillance, to find lawbreakers, and it sets a high threshold for engaging in pursuits due to the risks involved.

The department's history includes the death of officer John J. O'Brien, who was killed in 1981 when his patrol car was struck by a car fleeing another patrol car.

This past summer in Minneapolis, Leneal Frazier, 40, was killed when a Minneapolis police squad car struck his vehicle during a high-speed chase.

Matt McKinney • 612-673-7329