AITKIN-A 40-year-old Bemidji man faces eight criminal charges after fleeing from police Friday, April 5, while an infant was in the back seat of his vehicle and while allegedly hauling $5,500 worth of methamphetamines.
According to the Aitkin County Sheriff's Office, a deputy performed a routine traffic stop Friday morning on Bobby Lee Donnell Sr. in Aitkin. During the course of the routine stop, the deputy observed an infant in the rear of the vehicle. The deputy questioned the driver, who provided a false name and birth date and, after questioning, stated his real first name was Bobby.
The driver then fled the scene in the vehicle and began throwing items out of the window, the sheriff's office reported. The items were recovered with assistance from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and were determined to be meth and paraphernalia for smoking meth.
The sheriff's office, with assistance from the Minnesota State Patrol and the Aitkin and Hill City police departments, were involved in the pursuit, which ended several miles south of Hill City on Highway 169. The state patrol utilized stop sticks to deflate tires and end the chase. Authorities arrested Donnell and the infant was taken into protective custody.
Authorities recovered more than 69.15 grams of meth.
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Donnell was charged Monday in Aitkin County District Court in Aitkin with felony first-degree possession of a controlled substance, felony storing meth paraphernalia in the presence of a child, felony fleeing a peace officer in a vehicle, gross misdemeanor second-degree driving while under the influence of a controlled substance and gross misdemeanor endangering a child.
He also was charged with three misdemeanors-reckless driving, giving a false name to a peace officer and driving after revocation.
