Rosemount motorist to cop: ‘Catch me if you can’
Allen J. Hoff
Police say a Rosemount motorist brazenly declared his intention to flee a traffic stop before doing just that.
“Catch me if you can” is what 35-year-old Allen J. Hoff allegedly told the patrol officer who pulled him over just after midnight Aug. 3 in Lakeville.
Hoff has been charged in Dakota County District Court with fleeing police, a felony, in connection with the incident.
According to the criminal complaint, the officer stopped Hoff’s vehicle on Cedar Avenue near Upper 164th Street after a license plate check showed the registered owner had a cancelled driver’s license.
Hoff pulled over and provided the officer with his license information. After running the information through the computer in his squad car, the officer approached Hoff’s vehicle again, at which point Hoff made his impudent “Catch me” challenge and then drove off at a high rate of speed, the complaint said.
The officer gave chase and radioed for backup. Police located Hoff’s vehicle a short time later, unoccupied.
Hoff was arrested later that morning at his home. As he was being transported to the police station, Hoff allegedly stated that he “ran from the cops” because he was drunk and didn’t want to go back to prison.
Following his arrest Hoff was booked into the Dakota County Jail, where he remained as of Monday, Aug. 13. Bail was set at $80,000.
If convicted of the one count of fleeing police, Hoff faces up to three years in prison and a $5,000 fine. He’s also charged with driving after cancellation, a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $3,000 fine.
His next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 27 in Hastings.
