Residents along County Road 47 at Walnut Street had a bit of a scare Sunday night around 9:30 p.m. when a car allegedly driven by Matthew Winn, 34, of Rosemount, went speeding down the road in an effort to evade the pursuit of a Dakota County Sheriff’s Officer. Winn’s vehicle was heard speeding through residential neighborhoods, and in the process, his vehicle backfired several times making residents believe they were hearing gunshots.
Hastings Police Chief David Wilske addressed the public’s concerns.
“I can confirm that there is no threat to the public and although we received reports this morning of possible shots fired on Walnut; after reading reports from the county and scouring the area for indications that a weapon had been fired; we determined this was the exhaust making the cracking noises. This was confirmed by the arresting officers’ reports,” Wilske said.
According to Captain Jeffrey Leopold of the DCSO, “A Dakota County Deputy noticed the vehicle traveling East on Dakota County Road 47 near Pine Street in the City of Hastings and attempted to initiate a traffic stop. The vehicle fled at a high rate of speed and the pursuit was terminated after losing site of it. Shortly after the vehicle fled, calls came out in the area regarding the sound of multiple gunshots. The deputy notified responding units and dispatch that the vehicles exhaust system made sounds similar to gun shots as it sped off.”
At 9:55 p.m., a vehicle matching the same description as the one fleeing from the DSCO deputy was located at M& H on Vermillion Street in the Hastings. Dakota County Deputies surrounded the vehicle and arrested Winn.
Winn was booked into the Dakota County Jail on Nov. 28 at 12:07 a.m. on charges of Fleeing a Peace Officer in a Motor Vehicle, Reckless Driving, and 4th degree DWI related charges. These charges are pending. No one was injured in this arrest.
