A 19-year-old Austin man is headed to prison for two cases, while he pleaded not guilty Thursday in a third case.

Semaj Maurice Dow was sentenced in Mower County District Court to 13 months in prison with credit for 27 days served for fifth-degree drug sale in a Feb. 23 case, and he was sentenced to a concurrent charge of a year and a day in prison for theft of a motor vehicle in a May 2016 case. He must also pay $1,410 in restitution and other fees in that case.

Also on Thursday, Dow pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from a March 8 high-speed chase. He faces three felony counts: theft of a motor vehicle, fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle and possessing counterfeit currency; a gross misdemeanor for counterfeit currency; and two misdemeanors: court-degree DWI and driving after suspension.

In the most recent case, a pursuit began just after midnight on March 8 when an officer on routine patrol on Fourth Street Northwest by Austin High School saw a 2008 Chrysler Sebring without a driver, according to Austin Police Chief Brian Krueger and court records. Assuming that someone was hunched down in the seat, the officer checked the license plate and found the license was revoked. The officer pulled behind the vehicle and continued to follow the vehicle on Fourth Street. It became clear the driver was trying to evade police and the chase continued along Second Avenue, Fourth Street Southeast, 13th Avenue Southeast and Eighth Street Southeast before the vehicle turned on Main Street and then west to Oakland Avenue.

The officer estimated speeds of up to 100 mph. The suspect then ended up on West Oakland Avenue along Turtle Creek when the officer slowed his pursuit due to the water and winding path of the road.

The suspect drove onto Interstate 90, continuing the speeds of over 100 mph. Two marked squads, hearing the pursuit via radio, were waiting on 14th Street, while a Minnesota State Patrol trooper placed stop sticks under the 21st Street overpass. The spikes deflated the tires and the suspect was taken into custody without injury after he stopped at 28th Street.

He was taken into custody at gunpoint following the 11 1/2-mile chase that took eight minutes, said Krueger. Officers reported they noticed a smell of alcohol and discovered six $100 counterfeit bills in his possession.

The vehicle was later found to be stolen from the Walmart parking lot and was returned to the owner. The only property damage was deflated tires, said Krueger.

In the drug case, he was arrested Feb. 23 when police found him changing a tire at Bandshell Community Park with more than 42.5 grams of marijuana and $2,327 in cash in the car. For that incident, he was charged with felony fifth-degree drug sale and a misdemeanor for possessing more than 1.4 grams of marijuana.

For the first theft case, he was involved in a February 2016 incident where gunshots were allegedly fired during a dispute over a woman, and he was also convicted of felony theft in a May 2016 incident where he and another man stole a car and took it for a “joy ride” to get back at the vehicle’s owner.

He is scheduled for a July 24 trial for the chase incident.
—Deb Nicklay contributed to this report.