Revision of Deputy dragged by car as suspect attempts escape from June 20, 2007 - 2:06pm

A 56-year-old man faces felony charges after dragging a McLeod County Sheriff’s deputy from his car Monday while trying to evade arrest.

Jerry Dean Burt, of Olivia, was charged June 20 with second-degree assault and fleeing a police officer.

At 8:04 p.m. on June 18, the McLeod County sheriff’s dispatch put the word out that Olivia Police had issued a “pick up and hold” order on Burt for alleged gross misdemeanor domestic assault.

Burt was reportedly headed east on U.S. Highway 212 in a 1997 GMC Suburban. Deputy Jennifer Mueller spotted the Suburban and stopped it at 8:15 p.m. near the intersection of Highway 212 and Walden Avenue.

She approached the vehicle and told the suspect he was under arrest. After Burt failed to heed Mueller’s repeated requests that he get out of his vehicle, Mueller tried to physically remove him.

According to the sheriff’s office, Burt drove off, dragging Mueller about 20 to 25 feet along the highway before she was knocked to the ground. Other deputies arrived and chased the Suburban, at speeds in excess of 100 mph, for about three miles.

Burt pulled over near Tagus Avenue, exited his vehicle and yelled at the deputies to end his life. He ignored multiple orders to get down on the ground, before deputies subdued him with a taser.

He was taken into custody, treated for injuries at Glencoe Regional Health Services, then taken to the McLeod County Jail. Mueller was also treated for non-life-threatening injuries at Hutchinson Community Hospital, then released.

Burt was charged June 20 with second-degree assault and fleeing a police officer.

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com)