ST. CLOUD – A Stearns County judge on Monday sentenced a 29-year-old central Minnesota man to 24 years in prison for a December 2022 police chase that resulted in the death of a 74-year-old St. Cloud man.
In October, Samuel Z. Butler, of Melrose, pleaded guilty to one felony count of fleeing police resulting in a death as part of an agreement that dropped six remaining lesser counts.
According to court documents, the Stearns County Sheriff's Office was alerted to Butler driving erratically about 8 miles west of Sartell just before 11 a.m. on Dec. 12, 2022.
A sheriff's sergeant started pursuing Butler and activated emergency lights in western St. Cloud after Butler pulled into a gas station at County Road 120. Butler fled south, driving through ditches and between houses, and then abandoned the SUV on Glenview Loop. Documents state officials found drug paraphernalia inside the SUV.
Butler then stole a pickup with a trailer from a nearby construction site and continued driving "at a high rate of speed" and "weaving through traffic" through St. Cloud — crossing through alleys and lawns, and striking several vehicles parked outside an apartment building, documents state.
He then sped through several stop signs, hit an SUV driving through the intersection of 36th Avenue N. and N. 10th Street, struck a pickup waiting at the intersection and then crashed into a tree in a nearby yard.
The SUV driver, Richard Loehr, was taken by emergency medical responders to St. Cloud Hospital with what proved to be fatal injuries. Loehr suffered two broken legs and bleeding in his head; he never regained consciousness after being struck by Butler, documents stated.
Loehr's obituary states he was born in St. Cloud and graduated from Tech High School, then was drafted into the U.S. Army and served during the Vietnam War and later worked for the United States Postal Service for four decades.
The prosecutor asked Judge Andrew Pearson to sentence Butler to 26 years in prison, which is more than the presumptive sentencing guidelines of 17-24 years, arguing the excessive speeding and reckless driving should be grounds for an aggravated sentence.
Butler's attorneys, Caroline Field and Douglas Carlson, argued he should be sentenced to 17 years because the "events of this offense and the death that resulted are tragic but these tragic elements are unfortunately essential to the charge" and common in other similar cases. Field and Carlson could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Documents submitted to the court by Butler's lawyers say he is "painfully aware that there is likely nothing he can ever say to the family of the victim that will give them peace" but the "only thing he holds dear in his life is his daughter, and he will be serving enough time in prison to miss her childhood almost altogether."
Court records show Butler has been in trouble with the law throughout his adult life, with multiple convictions for drug offenses and for driving on a suspended license. He also has convictions for illegally possessing firearms, assault and theft.
Pearson's sentencing order mandates a minimum term of imprisonment of 16 years with a maximum supervised release term of eight years, as well as credit for 391 days already served.
