Teen charged after 'wrapped' stolen Jeep crashes into St. Paul restaurant
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - An 18-year-old man is facing several felony charges in connection to a police chase that ended with an SUV crashing into a St. Paul restaurant Wednesday night.
Moeshea Hart, 18, was one of the three teenagers arrested after allegedly being involved in a shooting with another car and then leading police on a high-speed chase before crashing into the Ox Cart Ale House in St. Paul on Wednesday night. The other two are 18-years-old and 17-years-old.
Hart was charged in Ramsey County court on Thursday with one count each for drive-by shooting, theft of a vehicle, possessing a machine gun, fleeing police, and carrying a pistol without a permit. He is scheduled to make his first court appearance Friday morning.
According to the charging documents filed Thursday, the incident began on Wednesday around 4:30 p.m. when police responded to a shooting on the 300 block of Luella Street.
Responding officers located the black Jeep, which appeared to have its rear window shot out. The car fled from law enforcement and police started a pursuit. The driver went from Ruth Street to Minnehaha Avenue to McKnight Road to Interstate 94.
Police ended the pursuit after the driver exited the highway onto 6th Street in downtown St. Paul, charges say. The driver continued to flee the police and ran a red light, crashing into another vehicle. The vehicle then crashed into the Ox Cart Ale House.
Police say the driver continued trying to escape by "ramming the jeep through the business," the complaint reads. The three teenagers then got out of the vehicle and tried to run on foot, but they were detained.
According to the charging documents, the three teenagers refused to speak with investigators.
Law enforcement searched the vehicle and found a loaded Glock 9mm handgun with an extended magazine. The firearm had been modified with a switch that converted it to a fully automatic weapon. Police officers learned the Jeep had been reported stolen out of St. Paul on December 1. The orange Jeep was "wrapped" to make it appear black.