A Minnesota man ended up laying in a muddy field after a K-9 officer stopped him from fleeing police after an eventful St. Patrick’s Day motorcycle ride close to midnight through the town of Hartland.

John Robinson, 39, Anoka, Minn., posted a $10,000 signature bond in Pierce County Court on March 18 on felony vehicle operator flee/elude officer (repeater), felony drive or operate vehicle without consent (repeater), felony receiving stolen property (repeater) and resisting or obstructing an officer (repeater) charges. If convicted, he faces up to 3.5 years in prison and/or up to $10,000 in fines.

According to the complaint: At 11:55 p.m. March 17, an officer witnessed a motorcycle speeding southbound on County Road C near 290th Avenue, clocked at about 70 mph. When the officer attempted to pull it over, the driver looked back and kept going. He eventually turned left to head east on 690th Avenue and pulled into N2002 690th St. where he stopped and put his hands up.

The man, identified through previous contacts as Robinson, said he thought heading to the house was better than stopping on the road. He didn’t have a driver’s license on him and no valid license. He told police the motorcycle had no rear plate because he had just bought it off Facebook Marketplace. When the officer ran the VIN number, the Yamaha motorcycle came back as stolen from St. Paul dating back to Nov. 20, 2021.

When the officer tried to place Robinson under arrest, he sprinted to the southeast away from the residence, ignoring shouted commands to stop. The officer released his K-9 partner from the squad and when Robinson ignored the dog’s warning barks, the K-9 was ordered to apprehend him. The officer followed the dog southeast across 690th Street and County Road C to the southeast corner of the intersection and into a muddy, chisel-plowed field. Robinson could be heard screaming for the dog to stop, but the officer couldn’t see anything in the dark. The dog obeyed commands to heel and Robinson agreed to stop running if the dog was called off. He was covered in mud and laid on his stomach in the ditch until other officers arrived. Robinson claimed the K-9 officer bit him, but no bite marks were found and he declined an ambulance. He said he ran because he didn’t want to go to jail. Probation placed a hold on Robinson pending the new charges and being on active probation for maintaining a drug trafficking place. He was taken to Pierce County Jail without further incident.

Robinson is scheduled to appear in court at 2:30 p.m. April 25 for a preliminary hearing.

John Robinson