St. Cloud Man Arrested After High Speed Chase

ST. CLOUD - A St. Cloud man is in jail after leading police on a 23-mile high speed chase.

A police officer stopped 30-year-old Christopher Halbakken early Sunday morning near the intersection of 9th Avenue and 2nd Street North, after he was spotting driving without his headlights on.

Halbakken initially stepped out of the vehicle, but then jumped in and took off.  The officer noticed a handgun sticking out from under the drivers seat.  Halbakken drove north on 9th Avenue, over the Sauk Rapids bridge, and onto Golden Spike Road toward Gilman.  He eventually went into the ditch.  The chase reached speeds of 85 miles an hour.

Police are investigating whether he fired shots at the officers during the chase.  No gun was found in the vehicle, Halbakken says the threw it out the window.  Mounted police searched for the gun Sunday but didn't find it.

There were no injuries, and the squad cars were not damaged.