WILLMAR -- A Spicer man pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony charge of fleeing a peace officer during a May 15 pursuit that reached 143 mph.
As part of a plea agreement reached in Kandiyohi County District Court, Ryan Mitchell Larsen, 20, will receive a stay of imposition on his sentence, which will be handed down July 21. Under a stay of imposition, the felony conviction will be reduced to a misdemeanor if he complies with the conditions of sentence.
Larsen was released on his personal recognizance, with the condition that he not violate traffic laws.
According to the court records, a probation violation was filed after a state trooper stopped Larsen for speeding on June 1. That stop happened at 12:40 a.m. along state Highway 23 near the intersection with County Road 23. He was allegedly driving an Audi TT at 73 mph in a 55-mph zone.
According to the complaint in the felony case, a state trooper began the pursuit May 15 along state Highway 23 near County Road 6 after radar indicated the motorcycle Larsen was driving was going 100 mph.
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The pursuit continued westbound past New London and into Spicer, with the motorcycle driving between multiple cars to get away from the trooper. The cycle was going 120 mph in the 40-mph zone at Spicer and turned to go west on County Road 10 and then north on U.S. Highway 71, where another trooper clocked it at 143 mph.
The motorcycle turned to go west on County Road 40 and the trooper lost sight of the cycle at First Street North. The trooper saw a skid mark in a driveway along South Andrew Drive and questioned a man there.
The man said that Larsen had pulled up on the cycle and said he was in trouble. The man said he let Larsen stay in the house and park the cycle next to the garage, with a garbage can placed so that the motorcycle was not visible from the road.
The investigation brought the trooper to another residence, where a man said that Larsen had called him and asked him to bring a truck and trailer to pick up the cycle, which was located in a shed and seized by law enforcement.
The County Attorney's Office is also seeking the forfeiture of the 2007 Suzuki motorcycle involved in the pursuit.
