Two Arrested Near Becker After Truck Flees, Hits Squad Car

BECKER -- Two men were arrested in Sherburne County after authorities say they fled from an attempted traffic stop and crashed into a squad car.

Sheriff Joel Brott says investigators from the Sherburne County Drug Task Force were driving to an area where they believed 47-year-old Eric Rossiter Johnson of Annandale could be located. He had an active warrant for first-degree felony drug possession in Wright County.

Deputies spotted a man the believed to be Johnson driving a truck pulling a trailer near the area of County Road 11 and County Road 16. They tried to stop the vehicle but it kept driving running a stop sign as it headed toward Becker. The chase continued onto Central Avenue reaching speeds of 45 to 50 miles an hour. Investigators say they also saw items being thrown from the vehicle. The truck got onto Highway 10 and was heading west then it slowed and eventually stopped because of damage sustained when it hit a squad car.

The chase lasted more than eight miles.

Johnson and one of his passengers, 55-year-old Brian Holzschuh of North Branch, were arrested. A second passenger was not arrested.