Police Found Minivan Speeder Hiding under Pile of Clothes, Charges Say

One minute he was at 83 miles per hour in a 60 mph zone. 

Twenty minutes later he was in a basement closet at his north Minneapolis residence, hiding from police under a pile of clothes.

Wednesday was not a good night for Troy Eric Lee, 42, of Minneapolis, according to a criminal complaint filed Friday morning in Anoka County District Court.

Lee faces one count of fleeing from police, a felony that can carry a penalty of up to three years in prison and a fine of as much of $5,000.

Lt. Mike Monsrud of the Fridley Police Department said by email Friday that there were no outstanding warrants for Lee's arrest, and that it's "unknown why he fled."

Below are excerpts from the probable-cause narrative in the complaint. (Read the full narrative above by clicking on the PDF thumbnail.)

On March 13, 2013 at approximately 10:30 p.m., Officer Keeley of the Fridley Police Department was on routine patrol in a fully marked squad car ... when he observed a blue Dodge Caravan traveling at a high rate of speed in the far left lane of I-694. ...

Officer Keeley then activated the emergency lights in his squad car in an attempt to stop the vehicle. The vehicle took the exit for eastbound Interstate 94 and slowed, but did not stop. Officer Keeley then activated the siren on his squad car. Officer Keeley pulled his squad car to the left of the vehicle and was able to see that the driver was a white male with longer blonde hair and was wearing a blue jacket. Officer Keeley then shone his spotlight into the driver's area of the vehicle to get the driver's attention. The vehicle exited at the 49th Avenue North exit, proceeded onto 49th Avenue, and continued to flee through a residential area. Officer Keeley then stopped the pursuit.

3. Officers determined that the vehicle registered to [Lee] ... who had a registered address roughly one mile from where Officer Keeley abandoned the pursuit. Officers from the Minneapolis Police Department responded to the area of the defendant's registered address and located the vehicle parked at [43XX] Girard Avenue North. ... Officer Keeley responded to the address and spoke to R.A.B., who said that the defendant rents a room from him. The officers searched the house and found the defendant hiding under a pile of clothes in a bedroom closet in the basement of the residence. The defendant was wearing a blue jacket, and Officer Keeley believed he was the same person he saw driving the vehicle. Officer Keeley searched the defendant incident to arrest and found two sets of keys. The defendant acknowledged the keys were for the vehicle that had fled.

4. Officer Keeley took a formal statement from R.A.B., who said that the defendant arrived home approximately 15 to 20 minutes prior to the officers' arrival. R.A.B. said the defendant saw the police behind him, but did not know why he was being stopped.