Crime & Safety

Burnsville Man Charged with Fleeing Burnsville Police After Gas Drive-Off

Bounthanh Keomany has been in the Dakota County Jail since his arrest on Nov. 14.

A Burnsville man has been charged with fleeing a peace officer after police say he drove away from a Burnsville gas station without paying for his purchase, then refusing to stop while police followed him for more than three miles.

Bounthanh Keomany, 39, faces a felony charge of fleeing a peace officer, which carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine. He is also charged with two misdemeanors: theft and driving with a revoked license, each of which has a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. 

Keomany remains in the Dakota County Jail on a $10,000 bond and an ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) hold. An omnibus hearing in his case is scheduled for Dec. 5 in Dakota County District Court in Hastings.

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According to the criminal complaint, Burnsville police were called to a gas station on Nicollet Avenue just after 9:30 a.m. Nov. 14 on a report of a $45 gasoline drive-off. Store employees provided police with the suspect’s license plate number. 

Burnsville police checked on the license plate and found the owner’s address. When they checked at that address, they were told that the son of the car’s owner, Keomany, had been driving the car at the time of the drive-off, according to the complaint.

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As police left the apartment building’s parking lot, they spotted Keomany’s car and stopped it. As an officer approached the car on foot, Keomany made a U-turn in the parking lot and headed north; the officer returned to her car and began following Keomany.

The pursuit continued onto Cliff Road, where the officer turned on her squad car’s lights. Keomany continued driving west on Cliff Road; he waved his arms and pointed to the side of the road several times, apparently indicating that he was going to pull over at the next street, but he never did, according to the complaint.

Keomany eventually made his way onto northbound Interstate 35W and continued driving, even though the pursuing officer had turned on her siren. The pursuit – which never exceeded posted speed limits – continued for more than three miles, at which point the officer stopped following Keomany.

Burnsville police located Keomany later in the day and arrested him.


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