A stolen vehicle, a pursuit and a crash landed one man in the hospital and in court with felony charges.

Dean Edward Sunderland, 32, New Richmond, was ordered to pay $1,000 cash bond April 7 in Pierce County Circuit Court on felony second-degree recklessly endangering safety (repeater), felony take and drive vehicle without consent (repeater), felony vehicle operator flee/elude officer (repeater), theft – movable property (repeater) and misdemeanor bail jumping (repeater) charges. If convicted, Sunderland faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and/or fines up to $25,000.

According to the complaint:

Ellsworth police responded at 2:09 p.m. Feb. 13 to Hines Auction Service (107 County Road C, Ellsworth) for an unwanted subject. Employees there said the man, later identified as Sunderland, had arrived the first time between 10:30-11 a.m. asking to use the bathroom. They noticed he had a cut around his eye. After using the bathroom, he left but returned later through one of the side doors and sat on a bench inside the building. The business owners asked if they should call police for help, and he said yes.

An officer spoke to Sunderland, who told them his name was Corey Hines. He said he was cold and just wanted to warm up. Employees had given him some water and food. He was dressed in a large brown coat to his knees and a hoodie pulled over his head. The temperature was in the single digits that day. He had dried blood on his eyebrow but declined an ambulance. He told officers he didn’t remember his name or how he got to the business. The officer offered to give him a ride to a gas station if he presented his ID, which he declined. Officers told him he wasn’t in trouble and free to leave, so he asked an employee for a hat and went out the front door. He watched the officer for awhile before walking behind the building.

Employees later told police Sunderland left but came back through the north door to the shop area, where he was shooed out by an employee. Sunderland’s tracks led to where an employee’s 2013 Chevy Impala had been parked. When the officer drove around the back of the building to see where Sunderland had gone, he saw him getting into the Impala.

Sunderland drove out of the parking lot and headed north on County Road C to Highway 10, where he turned left toward Ellsworth. The vehicle then turned right onto Morse Street, then left onto Wall Street, where he pulled over next to Pierce County Meats. At that point, dispatch confirmed the vehicle stolen from a Hines Auction employee. The officer exited his squad; as soon as he activated his emergency lights, Sunderland spun his tires and sped southbound the wrong way on Broadway Street (a one-way street), heading toward Highway 10.

He turned left onto Highway 10 and reached 90 mph by the time he reached Utility Street (a 30-mph zone). Traffic was light at the time. At the East End split, Sunderland headed out of town on Highway 10. A Pierce County deputy joined the pursuit, reaching over 100 mph by the time they hit 715 Steer & Beer. The pursuit continued to County Road A, where Sunderland lost control of the vehicle, drove into a field, changed direction and headed back westbound on Highway 10.

The Ellsworth officer, who had been following the deputy, pulled to the side of the road near 400^th Street. The Impala completely crossed the center line and forced the Ellsworth officer off the road to avoid a head-on collision. Sunderland whizzed by at about 100 mph with the deputy and EPD behind. About a quarter mile past 400^th Street, Sunderland left the road and entered a heavily wooded area on a curve, struck several trees and came to rest in a ravine down a 50-foot embankment. Two tires were torn from the vehicle, which was almost unrecognizable. The roof was smashed down into the passenger compartment and the vehicle had heavy steam and smoke coming from the engine.

The officers were able to remove Sunderland, who was unconscious, from the vehicle. He was breathing and had blood on his forehead but no other visible injuries. Officers finally identified him by an ID found in his wallet. An ambulance transported Sunderland to Regions Hospital in St. Paul; an officer rode along as he was in and out of consciousness.

Police later learned Sunderland was the same man who had entered Dick Hines’ residence at 107 Wallace St. without permission around 2 p.m. that day. Hines said he was watching TV and napping in his bedroom when he heard his dog barking. When he walked into his living room, he found Sunderland sitting on a stool in front of an electric fireplace. He also found burnt up paper in his bathroom and said the man stunk.

The man asked Hines for some food and a lighter, but Hines told him he had an appointment to get to and he had to leave. Sunderland asked Hines for his boots, which he did not give him. He instead offered him some food and tried calling a couple of people for the man. When that was unsuccessful, he gave the man a ride to County Road C, where he dropped him off. At that point, the man is believed to have gone into Hines Auction.

Hines returned home and called the police, who found where the man had entered through Hines’ garage. Officers followed the man’s tracks through properties at 105 Wallace St. and 663B E. Main St, down the driveway to 663 E. Main St., then to 667 E. Main St. The tracks went up to that residence’s back door (the resident later told police the man was seen on his Ring doorbell camera around 1 p.m.) From there, the tracks led to 669 E. Main where they went to a camper parked in the driveway, both doors of a truck and the home’s door. Police then followed the tracks north to Main Street, where they ended.

Sunderland was previously convicted of felony vehicle operator flee/elude officer in Dunn County Dec. 21, 2023.

His next court appearance in Pierce is a status conference at 1:45 p.m. April 21.