WOODBURY, Minn. – Eight suspects fleeing after a felony theft of jewelry from a luxury Louis Vuitton store in Edina just after 10 a.m. were arrested in a minivan after being chased almost across the entire Twin Cities at high speeds on Wednesday morning.
The chase ended at 10:35 a.m. at the Interstate 94/494/694 junction in Woodbury after an officer swung a squad car around to stop the minivan, police said. Police said at one time 24 law enforcement vehicles were at the scene where the van was stopped.
The high-speed chase from the southwest suburbs of Minneapolis to the eastern suburbs of St. Paul covered at least 25 miles on the busy highways with the van weaving in and out traffic.
The driver reached speeds close to 100 mph and swiped a Nissan sport utility vehicle while avoiding stop sticks officers set up, according to police radio traffic
With the aid of one of its helicopters, the Minnesota State Patrol, along with Bloomington and Edina police, engaged in a pursuit from I-494 in Edina to Highway 52 to I-94 where law enforcement stopped the suspects' vehicle on an interchange ramp.
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The male suspects were taken into custody on the entrance ramp from I-494 to westbound I-94. Their vehicle, a black Chrysler minivan, was facing the wrong way on the ramp while suspects were being questioned and arrested.
Edina police were called at 10:09 a.m.Wednesday to a robbery at Louis Vuitton in the Edina Galleria. No force was used or implied in the theft, according to Jennifer Bennerotte, communications and technology services director for Edina police.
There were no injuries.
Edina was processing the suspects at the police station at about 11:20 a.m, with the next stop being the Hennepin County Jail.
Jewelry was thrown out the minivan's window near the end of the chase, and police searched along the freeway to recover it.
More than $20,000 worth of merchandise was stolen from the store.
Eight male suspects ranging in age from 21 to 38 were arrested and are expected to be charged in Hennepin County District Court today, Edina police said. The eight men, all from Illinois, were in custody at the Hennepin County Jail on Wednesday evening.
Edina police identified them as Derrick Crowder, 22; William Percy Curry, 23; Clyde Edward Dobbs, 22; Thomas Dyshy Gaston Jr., 22; Darion Savon Hood, 21; Shawn Devon Mondie, 21; Danny Ray Robinson, 38; and Leon White, 29.
