Two men were arrested Friday morning after deputies spotted a man wanted for a felony drug warrant who then fled from an attempted traffic stop.

 

A chase ensued that lasted more than eight miles and ended shortly after the suspect vehicle collided with a Becker squad car, causing damage to the fleeing vehicle that resulted in it having to stop. Deputies who were pursuing the fleeing vehicle saw the front seat passenger throwing hypodermic needles and baggies out the vehicle’s window during the chase, Brott said.

 

The driver, Eric Rossiter Johnson, 47, of Annandale, and the passenger, Brian Scott Holzschuh, 55, of North Branch, were arrested. A second passenger was not arrested.

 

The chase began when investigators from the Sherburne County Drug Task Force were driving to an area where they believed Johnson could be located. He had an active warrant for a first-degree felony drug possession charge in Wright County.

 

Deputies spotted a man they believed to be Johnson driving a truck pulling a trailer near the area of Co. Rd. 11 and Co. Rd. 16. They tried to stop the vehicle, but it kept driving, running a stop sign as it headed toward Becker.

 

The chase continued onto Central Avenue at speeds of 45-50 mph, and investigators saw items being thrown from the vehicle as it fled. As the chase approached Central Avenue and Sherburne Avenue, a deputy who had been alerted that the chase was headed toward Becker had blocked traffic at that intersection, preventing vehicles from getting in the way of the chase.

 

The fleeing vehicle then ran another stop sign and got onto Hwy. 10, heading west. The truck slowed and eventually stopped because of the damage sustained when it hit the squad.

 

Johnson and Holzschuch were booked at the Sherburne County Jail.