Buffalo Man Charged with Fleeing Police in Dakota County

A Buffalo man has been charged with fleeing police in Dakota County last week in a pursuit that reached speeds of 92 mph.

Randy Tyler Riddle, 21, is charged with fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle, a felony with a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine. 

According to the criminal complaint, a Cannon Falls resident called police on July 30 and reported a suspicious vehicle in the neighborhood. The caller said the driver had pulled in with the lights off, and that several people got out of the vehicle and were walking around the neighborhood.

An officer responded but was unable to find the vehicle. Shortly afterward, the officer got a call from a dispatcher who said the caller was following the suspects north on Highway 52.

The officer turned onto Highway 52, spotted both cars ahead of him and turned on his emergency lights and siren. The caller pulled over and let the officer past, but the suspect vehicle, driven by Riddle, speeded up and turned south onto Hogan Avenue, according to the complaint.

The officer clocked Riddle at 92 mph on Hogan Avenue. When he got within 200 feet of Riddle’s car, Riddle slowed and stopped, the complaint says.

A passenger in Riddle’s vehicle told the officer that he advised Riddle to pull over when he realized they were being pursued, but Riddle told him to “chill the [expletive] out,” according to the complaint. The passenger told the officer that Riddle turned down Hogan Avenue to get away from the pursuing officer.

Riddle was arrested. He told the officer that he hadn’t noticed the squad car behind him and that he was unaware that he had been speeding, according to the complaint.

Riddle remains in the Dakota County Jail on a $20,000 bond. An omnibus hearing in his case is scheduled Aug. 28 in Dakota County District Court in Hastings.