Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A former State Trooper charged with killing an Owatonna High School student in a crash last year has lost his bid to have the criminal case against him dismissed.

An Olmsted County judge today issued a ruling concerning the criminal proceedings against 33-year-old Shane Roper. The charges against a Hayfield man allege that he was speeding at more than 80 mph in his State Patrol squad car without the emergency lights activated when he collided with another vehicle at the entrance to Apache Mall in Rochester in a crash that claimed the life of 18-year-old Olivia Flores.

A Plea Hearing is Scheduled in the Case Week

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Roper is charged with second-degree manslaughter, criminal vehicular homicide, five counts of criminal vehicular operation, along with a gross misdemeanor charge of reckless driving. His defense team argued that the prosecution failed to provide sufficient probable cause to sustain the charges, claiming there was a lack of direct evidence "tending to demonstrate that the defendants actions, or negligence, were the proximate cause of death or bodily harm."

Oliva Flores GoFundMe page/Canva

While the judge denied Roper's motion to dismiss the charges, a request for a change of venue has yet to be decided. A motion filed by the attorney representing the former State Trooper argues that the "excessive amount of pretrial publicity surrounding the case" has tainted the pool of potential jurors and would prevent a fair trial in Olmsted County.

Roper is now scheduled to make a court appearance next week to enter a plea to the charges against him.