A Bloomington police chase that began with a call about two men trying to pry open a parked car ended with the driver ditching his lights, weaving over sidewalks, and finally bailing out on foot in an alley. Gustavo Alexis Luna Solis, 18, of Minneapolis now faces two felony charges in connection with the Oct. 26 pursuit.
According to the criminal complaint, officers responded to a report of two males using tools to try to get into a car in a parking lot, as detailed by MN Crime. Officers then saw a vehicle occupied by the two males and later learned the car had visible damage to its door handle. When officers tried to stop the vehicle using emergency lights and sirens, the driver instead took off at a high rate of speed on a residential street.
From there, the complaint says, the driver led Bloomington officers through stop signs and over sidewalks, drove the wrong way down a one-way street, and switched off all of the vehicle's lights in the dark to evade them. Officers ended the pursuit once a law enforcement helicopter could keep watch on the vehicle from above, per the complaint, with the chase reportedly continuing into neighboring cities before it was called off on the ground. Luna Solis eventually stopped the vehicle in an alley and ran away on foot before officers arrested him, according to the complaint.
Charges Filed, Bail Set at $50,000
Luna Solis is charged in Hennepin County District Court with two felonies in a complaint filed Nov. 4, the report notes. A judge set his bail at $50,000. Attempted theft of a motor vehicle carries a listed maximum of half of five years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both, while fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle carries up to three years and one day in prison, a $5,000 fine, or both, per the same account.
Notably, the complaint does not specify what role, if any, Luna Solis had in the original report of two males trying to get into the parked car — a gap that remains unresolved in the charging document itself.
Part of a String of Bloomington Pursuits
This is far from the only recent chase to rattle Bloomington streets. Around 2:05 a.m. on Nov. 2, a 25-year-old Minneapolis man evaded a Bloomington traffic stop, speeding and killing his headlights before officers called off that pursuit near the 46th Street exit in Minneapolis, according to Hometown Source. Officers later found the vehicle parked at a second Minneapolis address after 7 a.m., with a man asleep in the driver's seat and the keys still in his pocket.
Days earlier, on Oct. 30, a 27-year-old Bloomington man allegedly fled a traffic stop and reached 65 mph in a 25-mph zone before the pursuit ended when he hit a parked bus, Hometown Source reported. In a separate incident, Bloomington police said a vehicle was reported stolen from the parking lot of an apartment complex along 97th Street, with that pursuit ending after the SUV lost control and crashed along Highway 100, according to KSTP. Police said that crash led to the arrests of a 27-year-old man and a 20-year-old man, both from Minneapolis, who were taken to a hospital for injuries and were expected to be OK.
Another Bloomington pursuit involved a 32-year-old man who police say collided with two parked cars before leading officers on a chase, as reported by CBS News Minnesota. Officers initially terminated that pursuit near 98th Street and I-35W, then resumed it after the same car was spotted on I-494, eventually stopping it on I-35W at 106th Street using stop sticks and the PIT maneuver.
What the Charges Could Mean
Under Minnesota's statutes governing fleeing a peace officer, a prosecution or conviction for that offense does not bar separate conviction or punishment for another crime committed as part of the same conduct, according to the Minnesota Revisor of Statutes. That provision leaves open the possibility that Luna Solis could face consequences tied to both the attempted theft allegation and the fleeing charge stemming from the Oct. 26 chase.
