Man Who Hit Deputy with Car Sentenced

Kasson, MN (KROC-AM News) - A South Dakota man has been sentenced to a little over four years in prison for a conviction stemming from an incident in April that prompted an Olmsted County Deputy to open fire.

37-year-old Larry Wenthold entered a guilty plea to a second degree assault charge in Dodge County Court on Wednesday and was immediately sentenced to 52 months in prison.

Wenthold, who was living in Stewartville at the time, was being sought by South Dakota authorities for failing to register as a sex offender when local authorities became aware he was in Hayfield. After locating Wenthold’s vehicle, several officers involved in his apprehension attempted to contain him by parking squad cars in front of and behind his vehicle after Wenthold was spotted getting into the car. He reacted by ramming the law enforcement vehicles and backing out of a bank’s parking lot at a high rate of speed.

One of the officers involved, Olmsted County Deputy Mark Chambers, ordered Wenthold to stop and then fired his gun just before the officer was struck by the vehicle and was knocked to the ground.

Wenthold kept going until he crashed into a nearby apartment building and then fled on foot but was caught a short distance away. Officer Chambers was treated for a minor injury. In addition to the prison sentence, Wenthold was ordered to pay about $5000 in restitution.

Court records show Wenthold has an extensive criminal history dating back to 1979. His cases include assault, domestic abuse, burglary and violation of no contact orders. He was also arrested in 2005 for a criminal sexual conduct case. He pleaded guilty to a burglary charge in the case and was sentenced to 68 months in prison and ordered to register as a predatory offender.