MOORHEAD — Authorities have a charged a West Fargo man who was arrested Monday, Feb. 25, after leading police on multiple chases that culminated with two Clay County Sheriff’s Office vehicles being rammed.
Dustin Douglas Swiers, 30, is charged with three felony counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon; one felony count of receiving stolen property; one felony count of fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle; and two felony counts of first-degree damage to property, according to documents filed in Clay County District Court.
Court records show Swiers also goes by the name Dustin Alexander Depiano.
According to court documents:
About 12:38 a.m., Feb. 25, authorities responded to a burglary in progress at a West Fargo home but the suspect, identified as Swiers, fled in a vehicle stolen from the residence.
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About 2:11 a.m., Moorhead police located the stolen vehicle traveling east on Main Avenue in Moorhead before losing sight of the vehicle.
Clay County deputies later spotted the vehicle going east in the area of 21st Street and Center Avenue and began a pursuit.
The suspect vehicle went east on Highway 10 to Highway 336 and then onto Interstate 94 where it reached speeds “in excess of 100 mph” before exiting the interstate back into the city of Moorhead.
Deputies lost sight of the vehicle in Moorhead, but it was spotted again a short time later and another pursuit ensued before that one, too, was terminated.
A deputy later spotted the suspect vehicle in a parking lot of an apartment complex in the area of Fifth Street and Brook Avenue South.
As the deputy approached, the suspect vehicle accelerated and collided with the passenger side of the squad car.
The suspect vehicle fled and encountered a second patrol vehicle, which it crashed into, causing airbags to deploy.
The suspect vehicle became stuck in a snowbank and Swiers was taken into custody.
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One of the deputies was taken to the hospital to be evaluated for possible injuries.
Swiers was being held in the Clay County Jail on Tuesday, March 26.
As of Tuesday afternoon, no charges had yet been filed against Swiers in Cass County District Court.
