Judge denies ex-trooper’s motion to dismiss charges in fatal Rochester crash

An Olmsted County judge has denied former Minnesota trooper Shane Roper’s request for the court to drop charges against him for his role in a 2024 crash that killed Owatonna teenager Olivia Flores.

In an order signed Wednesday, District Judge Lisa Hayne wrote that a reasonable jury could find that Roper’s driving was grossly negligent based on the facts of the case presented by the state.

Roper, who was fired by the patrol in September, faces nine criminal charges stemming from the fatal crash, including second-degree manslaughter and criminal vehicular homicide.

In court documents, Roper’s defense had argued the former trooper was acting within the scope of his duties when his squad car collided into two vehicles at a busy intersection near the Apache Mall in Rochester.

Flores, who was days away from her high school graduation, died the next day of blunt-force injuries. Five others were seriously injured in the crash.

In the order, the judge pushed back against the defense’s claims that the Ford Focus occupied by Flores was at fault in the crash. The defense had noted that Roper’s light was green at the time of the crash, and that the Focus failed to yield before making a turn.

But Hayne wrote that while the driver of the car did have an obligation to yield to oncoming traffic, it is reasonable to believe the driver would not have seen the squad car coming given the rate of speed Roper was traveling. Roper had reached speeds of up to 83 mph in the moments before the crash, according to the criminal complaint.

“A jury could find that her actions were completely appropriate, and that the collision would not have occurred if Mr. Roper had not been travelling 43 miles OVER the posted speed limit without lights or sirens,” Hayne wrote.

The judge also rejected the defense’s request to exclude Spreigl evidence — the legal term for evidence of a defendant’s previous bad acts — during the trial.

The prosecution has said it plans to introduce evidence of prior incidents of reckless driving while Roper, an eight-year veteran of the force, was on duty to show that he was aware of the dangers of inattentive driving and speeding.

In the five years leading up to the crash, Roper had been disciplined by the State Patrol on four separate occasions for careless or reckless driving, including a February 2019 crash that injured another officer.

“There is evidence he knew his driving conduct was reckless and risky but may have chosen to proceed with his conduct out of frustration with being delayed by an interfering vehicle,” Hayne wrote.

A separate motion to change the venue was reserved for a later date. The defense has argued the extensive media coverage of the case would make it difficult for a fair trial in Olmsted County.

Roper, who previously pleaded not guilty to all nine counts against him, is scheduled to appear for a plea hearing on May 29.

A separate federal lawsuit filed by Flores’ family remains on hold as the criminal investigation plays out. In the suit, Flores’ parents argue that Roper “consciously disregarded” the safety of others, including their daughter, in the moments leading up to the wreck.

Eric Nelson, the lead attorney for the defense, declined a request Wednesday for comment.