A pair of suspected shoplifters led police on a high-speed chase on Interstate 94 with three young children in the car, according to the Waite Park Police Department.
Police received a report early Wednesday evening that Tyree Denton Beecham, 23, of Brooklyn Center and Mahogany Essence Loggins, 22, of St. Cloud were suspected of stealing merchandise from the Kohl's store in Waite Park. A store employee wrote down their license plate number and found that the car's driver was wanted for robbery in West St. Paul and may have weapons.
Lt. Vic Weiss of the Stearns County Sheriff's Office spotted the car on Hwy. 15 near I-94.
Waite Park officers responded and tried to stop the vehicle, but it sped away, reaching speeds of 100 miles per hour.
Officers tried using stop sticks to deflate the car's tires three times without success. The chase continued into Albertville, where Wright County deputies and the State Patrol responded. The pursuit ended after it was learned that children were in the car, the news release said.
"A chase with kids in the car "is uncommon, and unfortunately that information didn't get communicated right away," said Chief Deputy Jon Lentz of the Stearns County Sheriff's Office.
The car re-entered I-94, where rush-hour traffic held it up. Officers used stop sticks again and halted the vehicle.
Beecham fled briefly but was arrested after a foot chase. He is being held in the Stearns County jail on charges of felony theft, fleeing police in a motor vehicle, three counts of child endangerment and a gross misdemeanor charge of violating a protection order. Loggins was charged with felony theft.
The children, ages 5, 2 and 3 months, were released to family members.
Erin Adler • 612-673-1781
