NEW BRIGHTON, Minnesota. — Police in the northern metropolis say an attempted arrest of a stolen car full of children led to a confrontation in a wooded area early Wednesday morning.
New Brighton police said in a Facebook post that officers first spotted the vehicle driving on Silver Lake Road, near 17th Street Northwest, and began a pursuit.
The driver of the vehicle missed a turn on West County Road E, police said, and drove down an embankment into muddy “waist-deep water” in the northeast corner of Silverwood Park. The driver and four others then fled on foot into the woods.
Officers from several local agencies helped New Brighton police set up a perimeter. The use of a drone and the loudspeaker of a Minnesota State Patrol helicopter overhead eventually led to the children coming out and surrendering, police said.
New Brighton Police
Officers later recovered two firearms from the muddy vehicle, one of which had a drum magazine.
Police are reminding residents to “ensure their car doors are locked and not to leave their wallets/cash in their car overnight.”
While this case is in Ramsey County, neighboring Hennepin County – specifically Minneapolis – has also had a number of other cases. thousands of reported cases of car theft this yearAccording to Hennepin County District Attorney Mary Moriarty, just under 100 of those cases in Minneapolis have resulted in criminal charges.
This inequality has led to a very public dispute between Moriarty and Police Chief Brian O’Hara.
The county has the Early intervention initiative for youth car theft last year, with the aim of preventing children who cannot be formally charged from re-offending.
