Officials: Standoff suspect had 44 pounds of meth in car
The man at the heart of the hours-long standoff Sunday on Interstate 35 is accused of having more than 44 pounds of methamphetamine in his vehicle.
Donald Ray Sanderson, 41, of Minneapolis, was charged Tuesday in Rice County District Court with two counts each of first-degree drug sale and first-degree drug possession, as well as being felon in possession of a firearm. All are felonies.
He remains in custody in the Rice County Jail; bail has not yet been set.
Officers from Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office and Southeast Minnesota Violent Crime Enforcement Team had been investigating Sanderson for narcotics-related crimes, and learned he was returning to Minnesota after a trip to California.
Agents tried to stop his vehicle on I-35 south of Owatonna about 2:45 p.m. Sunday; Sanderson hit stop sticks, then pulled over to let his female passenger out of the car.
He continued north on the interstate, driving on flattened tires, until he reached the city limits of Faribault. Sanderson stopped in the middle of the northbound lanes and got out of his car, holding a handgun, the criminal complaint says.
When first ordered to drop his weapon, Sanderson allegedly fired a single round into the ground near where he stood on the road.
He continued to ignore commands from law enforcement; the interstate was shut down in both directions as negotiations proceeded for the next four hours.
According to the complaint, Sanderson tried to shoot a drone out of the sky; a few minutes later, he attempted to shoot himself under the chin.
He “lost the firearm,” court documents say, and ran east into an open farm field.
A police dog from Apple Valley was able to track him, biting him on the shoulder as he took Sanderson down.
The reports indicate hypodermic needles were “littered throughout the vehicle;” white powder and white pills were on the driver’s seat.
In addition, there were several packages of meth, with a total weight of 14,944.3 grams – or 44 pounds, the complaint against him says.
The drugs have a street value ranging from $2.25-$4 million.
Also in the car were 50 pills of Alprazolam, more than 200 pills of counterfeit oxycodone pills that contain fentanyl, multiple cell phones and drug paraphernalia, the documents say.
The drug charges all carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine, or both.