Trooper pleads not guilty to manslaughter in death of Owatonna teen

ROCHESTER - Shane Roper, the Minnesota state trooper charged in the death of Owatonna High School cheerleader Olivia Flores, pleaded not guilty Thursday to all nine counts related to the May 18 crash.

Roper is facing charges of second-degree manslaughter and criminal vehicular homicide in Flores’ death. The felonies carry a maximum sentence of 10 years each. Roper has also been charged with seven other misdemeanors, including reckless driving, related to the three-car crash that left five others seriously injured.

Roper avoided eye contact with the more than 30 friends and family members, including Flores’ parents, who packed the courtroom for his first appearance. Roper was flanked by two attorneys, including Eric Nelson, the criminal defense lawyer who represented Derek Chauvin in George Floyd’s murder case. Nelson could not be reached for comment.

Olmsted County District Judge Christa Daily set a $100,000 unconditional bail for Roper. That bail is waived if Roper adheres to a set of conditions, including an order not to make contact with victims or their families. Because his license has been revoked, Roper is also not allowed to drive a vehicle.

Prosecutors say Roper was traveling 83 mph in a 40 mph zone near a shopping mall when his squad car collided with a vehicle occupied by Flores and two others. Flores, 18, died the next day as a result of the blunt-force injuries sustained in the crash.

Further investigation by Rochester police revealed Roper had engaged in high-speed driving multiple times that same day, at one point reaching 135 mph without his lights or sirens on. A 20-year-old man participating in a ride-along with Roper said the trooper told him the driving was “normal behavior for him.”

The fatal crash was the latest in a series of on-duty crashes involving Roper. State Patrol records show Roper had been reprimanded on four occasions for reckless driving dating to 2019. The discipline amounted to two written warnings and two days of unpaid suspension.

Lawyers for the Flores family have said they plan to file a wrongful-death suit against Roper but declined to provide a timeline. In an interview earlier this week, Flores’ parents, Steph and Carlos, said Roper should never have been on the road.

“Everything is so unbelievable; the speeding, no lights, no sirens, four past incidents,” said Steph Flores. “How do you let somebody like that still drive a vehicle? … Where were the safeguards?”

Roper remains on paid investigative leave, the Department of Public Safety confirmed Thursday. DPS has declined to respond to questions about the disciplinary procedures that allowed Roper to stay on patrol.

Roper and his attorneys are scheduled to be back in court Nov. 21 for a settlement conference. A trial has been set for late March.

Friends and family remember Olivia Flores as a kind and empathic teenager who brought “joy and fun into everything that she did.” Her death came weeks before she was set to graduate high school.