UPDATE: Driver in high-speed chase previously convicted of fleeing officers

Published 4:00 pm Friday, September 18, 2015

A Minnesota State trooper takes a picture of a vehicle up against a skid loader in Blooming Prairie Friday that was involved in a high-speed chase that started near Elkton. Photos by Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

A Minnesota State trooper takes a picture of a vehicle up against a skid loader in Blooming Prairie Friday that was involved in a high-speed chase that started near Elkton. Photos by Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

The 45-year-old facing charges for leading police on a high-speed chase Friday morning has faced similar charges before.

Castilleja

Castilleja

Jerry Lee Castilleja was arrested Friday morning after leading police on a chase that reached speeds of 90 to 100 mph and passed through several communities before ending in Blooming Prairie.

Castilleja faces pending charges for fleeing police officers, along with several other potential charges like damage to property and assault, though the Mower County Attorney’s Office has not yet officially charged him.

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Minnesota court records show Castilleja faced charges for fleeing officers in 1995 in Rice County before he was convicted for fleeing officers in 2002 in Rice County and in 2012 in Steele County. He’s also been convicted of several other crimes, including driving while intoxicated, driving without a license and misdemeanor domestic abuse.

He’s been convicted of crimes in Mower, Steele, Olmsted, Nobles, Rice and Goodhue counties. He has also had an outstanding warrant in Dodge County for contempt of court/failure to register since April 3.

The chase started after 7:30 a.m. when officers stopped the Castilleja near Elkton at Interstate 90 and Highway 16, according to Mower County Sheriff Terese Amazi. He allegedly got out of his car, was ordered back in and took off.

The vehicle routinely hit speeds of 90 and 100 mph, according to reports. Officers followed him on Interstate 90 and several backroads through Brownsdale and Lansing, and the driver avoided police stop strips at one point. The suspect drove through a cornfield and hit another police car before he was arrested, according to Amazi.

The chase came to a close in Blooming Prairie, after the man hit a skid loader operated by nearby construction crew.

Amazi said one deputy’s car will be taken to a repair shop due to the chase.

—Trey Mewes contributed to this report.

Mower County deputies talk to the suspect of a high-speed chase after catching him near the Blooming Prairie Elementary School.

Mower County deputies talk to the suspect of a high-speed chase after catching him near the Blooming Prairie Elementary School.