MINNEAPOLIS — Court records show a man suspected of killing a Mendota Heights police officer was wanted because he had left a drug treatment program and faced up to 30 years in prison if convicted on a pending drug charge.

Brian George Fitch Sr., 39, was captured Wednesday night after a manhunt following the fatal shooting of Mendota Heights police officer Scott Patrick during a traffic stop in West St. Paul. Police say they may never know the reason for the traffic stop. Police also said they expected the Dakota County attorney’s office to charge Fitch Friday in Patrick’s death. Fitch remained in serious condition Thursday with injuries he suffered in a shootout with police.

Case records examined by The Associated Press on Thursday show Fitch was charged in Dakota County last year with possessing 47.4 grams of methamphetamine. He pleaded not guilty.

In a handwritten letter to Dakota County District Judge Richard Spicer in May 2013, Fitch pleaded for the chance to go to treatment rather than prison for his conviction on charges of terroristic threats and fifth-degree assault. The charges stemmed from an attack on a man Fitch had accused of having a relationship with his girlfriend. That conviction ultimately resulted in a stayed three-year prison sentence and a requirement that he successfully complete a long-term residential treatment program at Minnesota Adult & Teen Challenge.

Fitch wrote that he became addicted to “hard core pain killers” including OxyContin after he was shot twice when his shop was robbed in 2008. He didn’t give details of the incident, but said the drugs “led me down a path of destruction.” He said he tried to get off opioids with methadone, but was eventually forced to quit methadone cold turkey. He said that left his emotions imbalanced, so he turned to meth, “and that was the worst decision of my life.”

He also wrote that he was the father of four “beautiful boys” and hoped that treatment would help him become a good father and productive citizen again.

In a follow-up letter, Fitch thanked the judge for the furlough to Teen Challenge and said he was looking forward to it.

“I feel like after all the bad that has happened that I can finally get a solid place to make a brand new start,” he wrote.