Man who fled police pleads guilty

Published 7:45 am Monday, May 8, 2017

A 34-year-old pleaded guilty to possessing nearly 29 grams of methamphetamine after his car went in the ditch and he yelled at and fled police last June.

Timothy Isaac Schmidt of Austin pleaded guilty Friday in Mower County District Court as part of a plea agreement to felony third-degree drug possession.

According to a court complaint, a citizen reported June 11, 2016, a white van driving east toward Austin and swerving on County Road 46. He or she called again and said the van drove into a ditch and got stuck in a cornfield, according to court records.

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Police found the driver, who identified himself as Schmidt, and yelled an obscenity. He tried to climb over the passenger side door. Police saw he was sweaty, flailing his arms, and at one point put his hands together and said he was praying.

He later locked the doors and rolled up the car windows. Police ordered him to exit the van, but he refused and reached under the driver’s seat and began to dig with his hands.

Concerned he was searching for a weapon, police held him at gunpoint and ordered him to show his hands. Officers broke out a window and repeatedly asked him to show his hands. A chemical spray was deployed, but had no effect.

Schmidt then ran out the driver’s side sliding door before heading northeast across the field. Officers caught him before he reached a home nearby.

He continued to resist and attempted to escape. He told police he did several drugs, and a detective found four baggies around the car that each contained about 7.01 to 7.38 grams of meth.

Due to his level of intoxication, Gold Cross Ambulance examined Schmidt and determined a squad car was necessary to transport him for medical clearance.

He refused to submit to testing or comply with a warrant for testing.

Schmidt is scheduled for sentencing on Aug. 18.