SW Minneapolis Motorcyclist Charged with Fleeing Police

A Southwest Minneapolis motorcyclist has been charged with leading police on a high-speed chase that stretched from Minnetonka into Edina.

Enoch Emilio Montante, 19, who lives in the 5800 block of Newton Avenue South in Armatage, is charged with fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle, a felony with a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, signed by Minnetonka Police Officer Samantha Johnson, a Minnetonka officer saw a motorcycle northbound on Shady Oak Road on July 8 without a visible license plate.

The officer pulled behind the motorcycle, and the driver made an abrupt 180-degree turn, heading south on Shady Oak Road. The motorcyclist accelerated to 98 mph in the 40 mph zone with the officer in pursuit, using his siren and emergency light, according to the complaint.

The officer lost sight of the motorcycle as it crested a hill and turned at Bren Road.

Within a few minutes, Edina police responded to a motorcycle collision at Gleason Road and Highway 62. The driver fled the scene on foot, but was apprehended a short time later, according to the complaint.

The Minnetonka officer arrived and recognized the driver – identified as Montante – as the one who fled on Shady Oak Road.

Montante admitted to police that he had sped away in an effort to elude police because his registration had expired, he “probably” had no insurance and he couldn’t afford another ticket, according to the complaint.

Montante is free on a $20,000 bond. An omnibus hearing in his case is scheduled Aug. 9 in Hennepin County District Court.