Patrol arrests driver on meth after 30-mile, 80-minute pursuit from Twin Cities to St. Michael

A motorist fleeing the State Patrol at high speed left a 30-mile path of destruction across the Twin Cities before he was caught in the backyard of a home in Wright County.

The Wednesday night chase was the second time this week that 23-year-old Charles Stiller of Waverly, Minn., sped off from law enforcement in a vehicle, according to court records.

Stiller struck cars, toppled fences and damaged yards as he drove erratically through north Minneapolis, Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park and other communities before his apprehension in St. Michael, court documents and a State Patrol spokesman said.

Events unfolded just before 10 p.m. on Wednesday when a trooper noticed Stiller weaving across traffic lanes on westbound Interstate 94 near Dowling Avenue and initiated a stop. Stiller briefly pulled over, then took off, according to a search warrant application in Hennepin County.

Troopers disengaged from the pursuit as a State Patrol helicopter followed Stiller as he “drove through multiple fences and damaged public and private property” while going the wrong way on city streets and highways, the application said.

For nearly 80 minutes, Stiller made his way through the northwest metro, eventually turning onto 1st Street in St. Michael, where Annie Haffner saw the arrest go down.

She was at home when she saw police drive by, then what sounded like a crash. Haffner peeked out her back door and saw a car had smashed through her neighbor’s fence. Then she saw Wright County sheriff’s deputies running after the driver, who had ditched his vehicle and ran on foot.

“Officers told us to lock our doors and stay in,” Haffner said, who watched the commotion that ended just three doors down from her deck. “It was wild.”

Another neighbor, Katie Klaus, saw police swarming the area.

“Police were walking down the street with rifles,” Klaus said as she watched the search from her home. ”They were yelling, ‘Come out, come out.’ I’ve never seen so many cops in such a small area."

Law enforcement recovered a backpack tossed as Stiller allegedly ran through yards and hid near a shed. Officers found his driver’s license inside and a glass pipe and tinfoil.

“He admitted to using both methamphetamine and fentanyl,” the search warrant application said.

Stiller was taken to HCMC in Minneapolis and later booked into the Hennepin County jail on probable cause of fleeing police and fourth-degree assault. He remained in custody Friday morning, jail records show.

Stiller, who has an extensive history of fleeing police, was charged with that offense this week in Dakota County District Court.

On Sunday, police had identified Stiller as a shoplifting suspect and attempted to stop him as he drove through red lights while on Cedar Avenue in Lakeville. At one time he was driving north in the southbound lanes, “causing several vehicles to swerve out of the way,” a criminal complaint said.

Officers ended the pursuit, but later spotted the vehicle Stiller was driving at a gas station. Stiller took off, driving over a snowbank and sidewalk as got away, the complaint said.

Police body cam and gas station surveillance video matched Stiller’s driver’s license and previous booking photos. Officers also learned Stiller was wanted for fleeing police in Blaine, the complaint said.

Damage reports were still coming in Thursday.

“Unfortunately, a lot of damage occurred to homes, cars, fences, yards,” Brooklyn Center police said. “If you believe your property was damaged by the suspect yesterday evening, call 911 and ask to speak with a Brooklyn Center police officer.”

Paul Walsh of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.