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An Apple Valley man has been charged with fleeing police and child endangerment after authorities say he led them on a chase through residential neighborhoods, then fled the car and left his 3-year-old son behind.
Salvador Mejia-Camacho, 25, 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. He is also charged with child endangerment, a gross misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $3,000 fine.
According to a criminal complaint signed by Minneapolis Police Lt. Gregory Reinhardt, police spotted an “irregularity” in the license tabs on a car driven by Mejia-Camacho just before 5 p.m. Nov. 9.
Police activated their emergency lights, but Mejia-Camacho didn’t stop. Instead, he weaved through traffic and almost hit several vehicles, according to the complaint.
Mejia-Camacho eventually drove into an alley between Pleasant Avenue and Pillsbury Avenue South, then stopped, jumped out of the car and ran east through front yards, the complaint says.
As police chased him, they saw Mejia-Camacho throw something that turned out to be a jar filled with marijuana, the complaint charges. Officers caught him and arrested him.
When Mejia-Camacho left his car, he abandoned his 3-year-old son, according to the complaint.
Police discovered that Mejia-Camacho was the subject of an active warrant in Dakota County and that the tabs on his car’s license plates weren’t registered to the vehicle.
Mejia-Camacho remains in the Hennepin County Jail on a $20,000 bond. He is scheduled to make a first appearance on the charges Wednesday in Hennepin County District Court.