Minnesota State Patrol dispatcher led police to carjacking suspects

As two carjacking suspects attempted to evade police, Elizabeth Gust made sure they didn't get away.

Gust is a dispatcher for the Minnesota State Patrol, and on Jan. 17 she used traffic cameras while sitting at a desk in the Minnesota Department of Transportation's Regional Traffic Management Center in Roseville to track the suspects' every move as they rolled along Interstate 94 in St. Paul.

And she called out their locations to law enforcement in pursuit, alerting them when the crooks took an exit or changed roads.

Ramsey County sheriff's deputies eventually stopped the stolen Audi in the 1700 block of Maryland Avenue and took 18-year-old Kashawn Wertman and 19-year-old Nautica Argue into custody. The two were later charged with 31 felony counts, ranging from aggravated robbery to theft in connection with a carjacking spree in 15 cities over three metro counties.

Gust's efforts won high praise from Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher.

"We could not have done this without you," he said. "You were absolutely amazing on those cameras and thank you very much from the sheriff's office and everyone else. This is a bad guy we arrested today. He's got eight or more carjackings."

For Gust, it was all just another day at the office.

"It feels really nice to be recognized," Gust said. "Dispatchers do amazing things. There are a lot of resources we can use to track vehicles. We help as many people as we can."

Gust is one of 53 dispatchers who answer hundreds of calls during each shift and send help to where it's needed. In the 2 ¹⁄₂ years Gust has been on the job, she has been the voice getting police to stranded motorists and crash scenes. And she's guided law enforcement through other high-profile pursuits. She has spotted street racers and sent troopers to find them and get them off the road before tragedy strikes.

"Dispatching is a rewarding career," she said.

Law enforcement can't be everywhere, but with a vast network of cameras along Twin Cities freeways, dispatchers serve as law enforcement's extra set of eyes, said Lt. Gordon Shankof the State Patrol.

"We could not do our job without them." he said.

New MVTA transfer change

The Minnesota Valley Transit Authority is changing its transfer rules for riders using its on-demand service, Connect.

Starting Monday, the agency will offer Connect riders a same-day transfer ticket that can be used on any fixed-route line without having to pay an additional fare. The transfer can not be used to make a return trip on Connect.

Connect debuted in 2019 and provides on-demand rides in Apple Valley, Savage, Burnsville and Rosemount. The agency also operates an on-demand service exclusively in Eagan.

Growing the service's ridership has resulted in occasional increased wait times, said spokesman Richard Crawford. The transfer change is designed to encourage additional connections to fixed-route service and improve service times on Connect trips, he said.