Fleeing men who dragged and injured trooper sent to prison – Mankato Free Press

BLUE EARTH Two suspected drug traffickers who seriously injured a state trooper while fleeing on I-90 in 2018 were sentenced to seven years in prison.

Montrell Smith, 30, and Anthony Hector Enriquez, 30, both of Milwaukee, pleaded guilty to felony assault and a felony drug charge in January and were sentenced Tuesday in Faribault County District Court.

State trooper Doug Rauenhorst stopped the pair for speeding in a rented Jeep on the interstate on Dec. 20, 2018, according to court documents. The trooper smelled marijuana and asked Smith, who was driving, to get out of the vehicle.

Smith then sped off. Rauenhorst was caught in the open drivers door and was dragged while clinging to the vehicle.

Enriquez repeatedly struck Rauenhorst then used his feet to shove the trooper out of the vehicle. Raeunhorst fell onto the interstate and tumbled into a median. An accident reconstruction team determined the Jeep was going at least 38 mph when Rauenhorst fell.

Rauenhorst was taken to the hospital in Blue Earth with a traumatic brain injury and a gash on his head that needed staples.

Another trooper pursued the SUV and saw Enriquez throwing bricks of marijuana out the window. Nearly 16 pounds of marijuana were later recovered from along the interstate, court documents say.

Smith got off I-90 and nearly caused multiple crashes while being pursued through rural Faribault County. He got back onto the interstate and the chase was called off after Smith got off again in Albert Lea. The suspects were located a short time later at an Albert Lea bar.

Enriquez was sentenced Tuesday to 86 months in the St. Cloud prison. Smith was sentenced to 84 months in the same prison.

Raeunhorst sustained a lasting brain injury, according to a news release from the Faribault County Attorneys Office.

Raeunhorst continued treatment at a Mayo Clinic Health System brain rehabilitation center. He briefly returned to work in June 2019 but realized he was still struggling with memory and other issues. He was finally able to return to duty last month.

In a victim impact statement, Rauenhorst called the injury life altering.

It has affected my ability to advance in my career, and it has affected me and my family in so many ways, Raeunhorst said. It makes me very sad that my children had to see me go through this, as it has changed the way they view the world.

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Fleeing men who dragged and injured trooper sent to prison - Mankato Free Press