Man from early July standoff in court Monday, psych evaluation requested
Published 3:00 pm Monday, July 22, 2024
Kristofer Luiken
Law enforcement state at the scene of a stand-off, just minutes after a resolution that secured the release of a seven-year-old girl and the arrest of an adult male Monday, July 9, in northwest Austin. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
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The man who fled police in Owatonna with his seven-year-old daughter and was at the center of a standoff for nearly 10 hours in Austin in early July made an initial appearance in Mower County District Court Monday.
Kristofer Karly Luiken, 49, was back in court for two sets of charges, one related to the four charges faced in Mower County as well as two additional charges filed in Steele County where the incident began on July 8.
In Steele County, Luiken is facing charges of felony fleeing a police officer and misdemeanor failing to stop for a collision. This is in addition to the three felony charges of child endangerment, obstructing the legal process and threats of violence, along with a single gross misdemeanor count of false imprisonment he faces in Mower County.
In both cases a psych evaluation of Luiken has been requested by Mower and Steele counties.
Luiken will be back in court on Oct. 3 for a review hearing.
According to court complaints, Owatonna Police were dispatched to a Kwik Trip in the 1000 block of Frontage Road West at around 9:47 p.m. on July 8 for a report of an adult male screaming at a child.
OPD made contact and questioned Luiken, observing that he appeared nervous and scared. After more time, an OPD officer, concerned about the relationship, asked Luiken to get out of the vehicle at which time Luiken became agitated. He then reached for a can of pepper spray in the vehicle and again was instructed to get out of the car.
Luiken rolled up the windows, locked the doors and fled the scene, striking one of the OPD squad cars in the process.
Luiken fled south on Interstate 90, exiting at Highway 14 and then going south on Highway 218. While OPD terminated the pursuit, Luiken was picked up again by the Minnesota State Patrol, Blooming Prairie Police Department and Mower County Sheriff’s Office.
The State Patrol was able to deploy stop sticks, deflating the tires on the vehicle he was driving.
READ MORE: Man in Monday standoff charged
Luiken continued into Mower County and then into Austin, where he pulled into the driveway of his mother’s house in the 1700 block of Fourth Avenue NW.
Luiken was eventually taken into custody at around 9 a.m. on July 9.
Luiken is currently being held in Mower County Jail on $100,000 bail with no conditions and $50,000 with conditions.
