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Law enforcement charges but still looking for man who fought trooper on I-94, carjacked SUV driver

The 29-year-old suspect remains at large as of Thursday afternoon.

By Paul Walsh

June 15, 2023 at 6:33PM

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Prosecutors have charged a suspect with wrestling a state trooper last week on a busy Minneapolis interstate, dodging six lanes of traffic and carjacking a motorist.

Now they just need to find him.

Larobin S. Scott, 29, of Inver Grove Heights, was charged Thursday in Hennepin County District Court with felony threats of violence in connection with the incident that happened downtown on June 5 along Interstate 94 near the Lowry Hill Tunnel.

Scott remained on the run as of Thursday afternoon, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Michael Vogel told the Star Tribune on Tuesday that he was the motorist seen on traffic camera video who was thrust against his will into the role of getaway driver for the man who leaped through the SUV's open passenger window, flashed a gun and ordered him to drive.

Scott had briefly wrestled with a trooper in the grass off the eastbound shoulder of I-94, wriggled free and dodged highway traffic in both directions before getting to Vogel's SUV on the westbound side. That's when Scott, who was later identified by law enforcement, sprung into the seat next to Vogel.

Vogel headed west through the tunnel onto Interstate 394, exited at N. Penn Avenue and dropped the man off at a gas station a couple of blocks to the north.

Scott was identified as the suspect thanks to "distinctive features" that were captured on the trooper's body-worn camera and matched with other unspecified photos of the defendant that were available to law enforcement, the criminal complaint read.

Scott's criminal history in Minnesota includes convictions for robbery, theft, making terroristic threats, receiving stolen property and disorderly conduct.

He's also been convicted twice for burglary, including when he targeted the home of St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter on Aug. 15, 2017, and stole two handguns, a video game system and other items. Scott pleaded guilty and served a sentence topping four years.

Larobin Scott, 2017 (Ramsey County jail/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Scott has two other pending criminal cases in Hennepin County:

In September, he was caught by police allegedly dealing illicit drugs out of a car in downtown Minneapolis. In July 2021, he had cocaine and a gun with him in a car in downtown Minneapolis, the charges read.

According to Thursday's criminal complaint and a related court document:

Around 6 a.m., the trooper saw a car stopped along the interstate, where Scott said he ran out of gas. He told the trooper his name was "John Smith," but he couldn't produce a driver's license when asked.

Scott was escorted to the squad as a flatbed truck was about to remove the car from the shoulder. A moment later, Scott stood up and pushed past the trooper, sending both of them to the ground. From there, Scott fled to Vogel's SUV, vaulted into the vehicle and evaded capture.