Car and Foot Chase Ends with Police Charges

A 31-year-old Eagan man went to great lengths to ditch a gun during a police pursuit, but his efforts were ultimately foiled by a dog with a good nose, according to police.

Dontre Jackson, also known as Tremayne Lamont Morris, faces one felony count of illegally possessing a firearm and one felony count of fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle after he allegedly led police on a car and foot chase that culminated in the Hill Ridge Drive neighborhood in Eagan.

The chase began when an officer noticed a car make a turn against a red light at the intersection of Yankee Doodle and Coachman Road. The vehicle pulled over to the side of the road during a subsequent traffic stop, but then accelerated quickly away from the officer.

Police pursued the car for nearly a mile down Yankee Doodle, with speeds during the chase topping out at 60 mph. The vehicle came to a complete stop at Hill Ridge Drive, and the driver and a passenger exited the car—at which point the officer could see the driver, later identified as Jackson, holding something in both of his hands, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Dakota County Attorney's office.

Both suspects outran the officer, who eventually returned to the vehicle and located a .40 caliber handgun magazine on the ground outside of the driver's side door of the car.

As police were searching the vehicle, Jackson allegedly returned to the scene and was arrested. Police then brought in a canine unit to track Jackson's path as he was fleeing on foot. The unit located a gun and another loaded magazine on the back deck of a nearby home. Officers also found a small amount of marijuana on Jackson, according to the complaint.

Jackson, who has multiple felony convictions, is prohibited by Minnesota law from possessing a firearm.