GLENWOOD -- Pope County Sheriff Tom Larson said a high-speed chase Thursday night in Pope County and Glenwood ended in the apprehension of the vehicle driver, Wayde Allen Johnson, 46, of Fargo, N.D., early Friday morning.
At approximately 9:42 p.m. Thursday, the Pope County dispatch was told that an Osakis Police officer was pursuing a vehicle bearing Wyoming license plates and heading into Pope County on Douglas County Road 3. Larson said Johnson had been stopped by Osakis Police for suspicious activity.
When the officer went to his patrol car, Johnson took off and the chase ensued. Johnson evaded Osakis Police in the area of Westport. A Minnesota state trooper picked up the chase in the area between Villard and Westport heading west on Highway 28.
The vehicle continued west into Glenwood, where the vehicle was partially disabled with stop sticks set out by the State Patrol and the Glenwood Police Department. The vehicle continued onto North Lakeshore Drive with flat tires and continued into Long Beach where the vehicle struck a pedestrian and drove up into a yard in the area of the Golf Course Road.
Johnson fled the scene. The pedestrian was only slightly injured and required no medical attention, said Larson.
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Two passengers, Rita Guy and Beau Johnson, both of Fargo, surrendered at the scene and were taken into custody. A search of the area continued until approximately 12:44 a.m. Friday without finding Johnson.
He was apprehended at about 6:08 a.m. Friday by Glenwood Police and Pope County sheriff's deputies as he was walking south on Highway 104 on the edge of Glenwood. Johnson is in Todd County Jail and will appear in court at a later date. He was booked on charges of fleeing a peace officer, hit and run, and other charges.
Agencies involved in the case were Osakis Police, State Patrol, Pope County Sheriff's Office, Glenwood Police and the West Central SWAT Team comprised of officers from police and sheriff's departments in Pope, Stevens, Big Stone and Traverse counties.
