Litchfield, Minnesota, man flees into woods to avoid arrest

Dale Morin, West Central Tribune, Willmar, Minn.
·1 min read

Sep. 2—FOREST CITY

— A joint effort between three law enforcement agencies and several residents helped apprehend a man with pending charges of violence.

Benjamin Allen Miller, 39, of

Litchfield

, was arrested without incident, but not before he allegedly attempted to flee from law enforcement by darting into the woods.

According to a news release from

Meeker County Sheriff

Brian Cruze, a deputy responded to a report of suspicious activity around 2 p.m. Thursday in the 63200 block of 315th Street in Forest City Township.

Upon arrival, a suspect fled from the scene into a wooded area. According to the release, the deputy suspected the person to be Miller because he knew that Miller had an active warrant for his arrest.

Additional deputies also responded and set up a perimeter to begin a search of the wooded area to which Miller had fled.

According to the release, several residents in the area also provided information about the location that aided law enforcement in its search. "Sheriff Brian Cruze wishes to thank those who assisted in bringing this situation to a quick and safe resolution."

Miller was arrested around 3 p.m. Thursday without further incident. The Meeker County Sheriff's Office was assisted by the CEE-VI Drug and Gang Task Force and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Miller was booked into the

Meeker County

Jail on a new charge of fleeing police on foot. The warrant he was arrested on stems from a pending second-degree assault with a weapon charge, according to Cruze.

According to a staff member at the Meeker County Sheriff's Office, Miller was seen Friday morning in Meeker County District Court on his charges and was released without bail.