Minnesota Man Arrested For 35th Time After Wrong-Way Chase That Included A Stop At Menards

Is this real-life Grand Theft Auto in Minnesota? It appears that way after a man has been arrested for the 35th time by a Minnesota Sheriff's office. This story is so bizarre for so many different reasons. Let's start to unpack what happened in this wild crime story.

April 19 Arrest

31-year-old Yonas Abay has been a frequent visitor to the Ramsey County Jail. On April 19, he was arrested for possession of a controlled substance and for two outstanding warrants. Those were for a DWI and receiving stolen property. He was booked and held at the Ramsey County Jail. Then, on April 25, Abay posted a $5,000 bond and was released at about 6 am.

Fixin' to go back to jail just 90 minutes later.

Fast forward to a little after 7:30 am on the very same day, and Abay had stolen a red Chevy Pickup with a trailer and took off "like a maniac," swerving in and out of oncoming traffic.

MNDOT Cameras were able to locate him as he drove the wrong way against rush-hour traffic.

The suspect blows through stop sticks, deflates tires, and keeps going.

Sheriff Deputies were able to intercept the route of the driver and deploy stop sticks. Those sticks deflated tires, but the suspect kept driving.

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A deputy found him speeding at 60MPH through a residential neighborhood. The deputy threw another set of stop sticks and deflated another set of tires.

Dropped someone off at Menards during the chase.

He then dropped off a passenger at a Menards store in Maplewood before continuing on his way. The passenger was quickly arrested by police.

The suspect bailed out of the car near County Road D and Walter Street in Vandais Heights, Minnesota. He then tried to hide in some garages, but the Maplewood Police and Ramsey County Sheriff's Deputies were able to apprehend him.

Now, Abay is booked for the 35th time at the Ramsey County Jail. He is being charged with theft and felony fleeing police officers. 

How does this guy still get out of jail? Even the end of the post says that "he's behind bars. For now..."