Rochester Man Gets Prison for 100 MPH Police Pursuit

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Rochester man with a criminal history dating back more than 20 years, including multiple felony DWI convictions, has been sentenced to prison for fleeing police.

According to Olmsted County court documents, 46-year-old Matthew Ronald Fricke was arrested last June and charged with felony fleeing police in connection with a police pursuit in Rochester. The criminal complaint says Fricke attracted the attention of a patrol officer after he parked his vehicle in an “odd manner” at a convenience store along Civic Center Drive Northwest.

Photo by Andy Brownell TSM Rochester

Nearly 100 MPH on Highway 52

When the officer began following Fricke's vehicle, the charges say he accelerated west on Civic Center Drive and then onto southbound Highway 52 at speeds approaching 100 mph. At the time, Fricke was wanted on an active warrant issued by the Minnesota Department of Corrections and had a canceled driver’s license.

Following his arrest, Fricke's bail was set at $100,000.

He entered a guilty plea today to the felony charge of fleeing police in exchange for the dismissal of a gross misdemeanor charge of driving after cancellation inimical to public safety.

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Previous Conviction

Fricke was sentenced to 20 months in prison, with credit for 217 days already served in jail. He was sent to prison last August to serve a five-year sentence for a 2023 felony DWI conviction.

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