Rochester Man Gets Probation After Wild Police Chase

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A 21-year-old Rochester man has been sentenced to probation for a conviction stemming from a wild police chase that occurred a little over a year ago that began with a report of a motorist ramming a vehicle into a garage door.

Report of Vehicle Ramming Garage Door

The criminal complaint against 21-year-old Salmaan Mustaf Ali says officers responding to the report on April 25 of last year spotted the suspect vehicle and reported that he tried to “bait” an officer into a collision and then refused to pull over when the officer activated the squad car’s emergency lights. It was also alleged that Ali nearly collided with the officer’s squad car multiple times before the pursuit was terminated.

Near Collisions With Squad Cars

According to the charges, a second Rochester police and officer then converged on the area, and the two officers managed to box in Ali’s vehicle after he stopped along the shoulder of the road. After that, the court document says Ali drove away and nearly struck another squad car as he managed to elude the officers.

The criminal complaint says he was taken into custody about nine hours later after he was seen driving away from his residence and another officer successfully boxed in his vehicle.

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Guilty Plea to Felony Charge

Ali was charged with two counts of felony fleeing police and a misdemeanor charge of driving after revocation. He later entered into a plea agreement and admitted to one of the felony fleeing charges in exchange for the dismissal of the other charges. He also entered a guilty plea to a gross misdemeanor charge of obstructing the legal process stemming from a separate incident that occurred last August.

No Additional Jail Time

Ali was sentenced today to two years on probation. He was also given a one-year jail sentence, but he will not have to serve any additional time behind bars because all but 50 days of the sentence were stayed, and he was given credit for the 50 days he spent in jail following the incident last year.