Rochester Police Deploy Taser to Capture Wanted Man, Woman Accused of Aiding Him Also Arrested

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A Rochester man with an active warrant and a woman accused of helping him avoid arrest are in custody. 

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That’s according to Rochester Police Department Communications Coordinator Amanda Grayson, who said the ordeal unfolded on Wednesday. 

It began with a traffic stop and ended with officers deploying a taser. 

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Police Capture Rochester Man With Active Warrant, Woman Who Helped Him Flee

Grayson says members of the police department’s Special Enforcement Team developed a lead regarding 52-year-old Mark Heath, who was wanted for felony fleeing and drug charges. 

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A warrant was issued for Heath last month after he failed to appear at a sentencing hearing for sentencing in a drug case, according to court records. 

Officers believed Heath was in a vehicle that was stopped by law enforcement at the intersection of 16th St. and 3rd Ave. SW on Wednesday. 

The vehicle fled from the traffic stop, according to the police report. 

Wanted Man and Fleeing Woman Captured in Parking Lot

Officers later found the vehicle in a parking lot in the 1600 block of Broadway Ave. S. Grayson said Heath was in the hatchback of the vehicle. 

The police report indicates Heath tried to call away from the scene and ignored commands to stop. Police deployed a taser and took him into custody around 9 p.m. 

Heath was brought to a hospital where he was medically cleared.

He was then taken to the Olmsted County Jail where he was booked on the warrant charges and on suspicion of obstruction and fifth-degree drug possession, police say. 

Grayson says a woman identified as 54-year-old Marvella Collins was driving the vehicle that fled officers. 

The Rochester woman was arrested on suspicion of felony fleeing and aiding an offender.