WILLMAR -- Darren Wayne Williams, 42, of Minneapolis, pleaded guilty Monday to four felony charges stemming from a Sept. 26 string of motor vehicle thefts and burglaries that ended with a police chase to Paynesville.
The plea came one day before Williams was to stand trial on a total of seven felony charges, a gross misdemeanor and two misdemeanor charges in Kandiyohi County District Court. He pleaded guilty to two burglary charges plus charges for motor vehicle theft and fleeing an officer in a motor vehicle. He will be sentenced March 24.
Williams' alleged accomplice, Scott Michael Milne, 28, of Rochester, has a warrant for his arrest, which was issued after he failed to appear for a court hearing on Jan. 17. He's charged with six felonies for burglary, car theft, property damage and theft and a misdemeanor for theft.
The men were charged after Kandiyohi County sheriff's deputies were called around 11 p.m. Sept. 26 to an alarm at the Eagle Lake Country Store along U.S. Highway 71. The deputies had already been advised of a burglary in Willmar, at the Lakeview Quickmart, about 45 minutes earlier and that there was a report of a stolen vehicle from that same area.
Deputies arrived to find the doors of the store broken by a large rock. The till was stolen, along with cigarettes and sausage. The damage to the store was estimated at $2,278. Officers later found the cash register near the intersection of state Highway 23 and County Road 9.
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A short time later, deputies were informed that a purse had been stolen by individuals in a vehicle consistent with the vehicle stolen from near the Quickmart. That report came from the Country Stop in New London. The vehicle was located along Highway 23 in Spicer, and inside were packages of cigarettes, a cash drawer with receipts, a 12-pack of beer and the identification of the person whose purse was stolen at the Country Stop.
Around 11:30 p.m. another deputy observed another vehicle, which was later determined to be stolen from a parking lot in Spicer, driving erratically. The deputy attempted to stop the vehicle, but it increased its speed to 85 mph and the passenger opened the door to throw something out of the car.
The pursuit continued, with the deputy activating the sirens, eastbound on Highway 23 at speeds up to 110 mph. At the intersection with state Highway 55 in Paynesville, the vehicle took the ditch, struck a guide wire and continued with something dragging behind the vehicle. The vehicle slowed and both men exited it while it was still moving, the complaint states. Williams was apprehended after the deputy pursued him while he ran in circles in a field. Milne was tracked down a short time later in a nearby grove.
Both were arrested and transported to the Law Enforcement Center.
Further investigation by the Sheriff's Office determined that the vehicle in which the men were apprehended was stolen from Spicer. A Spicer resident also reported that her vehicle had been broken into around 11:30 p.m. The window was shattered and the steering column opened in an attempt to hotwire the vehicle.
In the stolen vehicle in which the men were apprehended, deputies found cartons of cigarettes, black clothing and a black bag which were consistent with the clothing worn by one of the men in surveillance camera footage of the burglaries. Both men were wearing masks during the robberies, and a ski mask was discovered in the other stolen vehicle recovered in Spicer.
