CROOKSTON, Minn. -- A Wadena, Minn. man pleaded guilty Friday to assault and fleeing officers after a police chase that ended with him crashing head-on into a deputy's patrol car.
Jeremiah Christopher Raper, 37, originally faced two counts of first-degree attempted murder for the August incident. But he entered into a plea agreement Friday in which he pleaded guilty to first-degree assault on a peace officer, second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and fleeing from a peace officer in a motor vehicle, all felonies.
Raper was sentenced to 180 months in prison for the first-degree assault conviction, which is concurrent with the 19-month sentence for the fleeing an officer charge. The second-degree assault charge carries a 60-month sentence, which was stayed for seven years.
Raper was given seven years of supervised probation, which will begin when he is released from prison, according to court records.
According to court records, Raper was driving away from RiverView Health when officers responded to a call for an “out-of-control” man, and he would not stop for police and at times reached speeds of 75 miles per hour. Officers said he was swerving and driving on the wrong side of the road, causing multiple vehicles to pull off the road to avoid a collision.
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The 4-mile chase finally ended when Raper crashed head-on into Polk County Sheriff's Deputy James Tadman's vehicle. Both Raper and Tadman were taken to RiverView Health in Crookston.
