A Beltrami County man is facing three criminal charges after deputies say he fled while they were searching for him on an outstanding warrant, reaching speeds of up to 90 miles per hour. Prosecutors filed the charges against Michael Jason Throne in Beltrami County District Court on October 28, 2026, the day after the October 27 incident, according to case records.
Charges Filed the Next Day
Court records reviewed by MN Crime list three counts against Throne: fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle, a drug-related DWI charge for operating a vehicle with any amount of a Schedule I or II drug or metabolite present, and driving after revocation. The case page identifies the criminal complaint as its source and lists an MN Crime article dated October 31, 2026. The charges are allegations, and Throne is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The complaint account begins on the evening of October 27, 2026, when deputies were searching for Throne on an outstanding felony Department of Corrections warrant. MN Crime reported that deputies saw a 2005 silver Ford Escape near 23rd Street and Conifer and identified Throne as the driver, whose license had been revoked. After deputies signaled the vehicle to stop, a female passenger left the car and Throne allegedly drove away.
A Chase That Covered Nine Miles
The complaint account says the pursuit covered about nine miles, with speeds ranging from 70 to 90 mph. During it, the Escape allegedly struck and knocked down a pedestrian crosswalk sign, and items were thrown from the vehicle. Deputies arrested Throne after the vehicle entered a residence's front yard, continued onto another street and stopped at a dead end.
According to the complaint, Throne said he told his passenger to get out because he planned to flee due to the warrant, and that he threw items from the vehicle in an effort to stop deputies from following. The complaint also describes deputies' observations during field sobriety testing and says Throne's preliminary breath test was 0.00. Deputies reportedly found drug paraphernalia, including glass pipes with residue, in the vehicle.
How Minnesota Law Defines Fleeing
Minnesota's fleeing statute, cited by the Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, covers increasing speed, turning off headlights or taillights, refusing to stop, or using other means with the intent to elude an officer after being signaled to stop. The separate drug-related DWI count concerns substance presence: Minnesota law includes an offense for driving when the body contains any amount of a Schedule I or II controlled substance or its metabolite, subject to listed exceptions. That offense is based on the presence of a substance, rather than requiring proof of impairment.
Not the First Beltrami County Pursuit
A separate Beltrami County pursuit occurred in March 2023. Valley News Live reported that a deputy tried to stop a vehicle matching the description of a suspicious car near Jenkins Road SE and Mission Road SE, but the driver fled. The pursuit covered about 12 miles before deputies used stop sticks to deflate three tires and arrested 54-year-old Kevin Allen Armstrong near Pennington. Armstrong was booked on charges of fleeing in a motor vehicle and driving while impaired. That case is unrelated to Throne's.
Pursuits in Minnesota and Beltrami County
For statewide context, WCCO Investigates reported that its analysis of Bureau of Criminal Apprehension data counted 7,044 police pursuits across Minnesota over the three years preceding its report. That figure is a pursuit count; it does not, by itself, specify how many pursuits involved crashes or injuries. In a separate incident on October 22, 2024, Beltrami County deputies pursued a driver with an outstanding felony warrant from near Highway 89 and U.S. Highway 2 to Cardinal Road, where they used a pursuit intervention technique to stop the vehicle. The Beltrami County Sheriff's Office said speeds reached 80 miles per hour.
The case against Throne remains pending in Beltrami County District Court, and no plea or final disposition has been reported.
