MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The man who pleaded guilty to running down two Army recruiters at a Roseville crosswalk last year was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison.
In November, Enrico Taylor of Minneapolis pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree assault and one count of criminal vehicular operation over the Sept. 17 incident.
The charges stated Taylor dragged one of the recruiters — Sgt. Travis Torgerson of Circle Pines — for nearly a mile before he was able to free himself from the vehicle. The other victim, Sgt. Michael Stroud of Brooklyn Center, was tossed into the air and landed about 15 feet away.
The incident happened at the Crossroads of Roseville Shopping Center. Taylor had been driving a Jeep.
According to Stroud, both the recruiters were in a crosswalk when a Jeep approached them, did not slow down and proceeded through the crosswalk at about 10-12 mph.
Two witnesses told officers they saw Torgerson hanging on to the rear bumper of the vehicle, screaming for help as the vehicle dragged him.
Police discovered that while Taylor was allegedly dragging Torgerson, Taylor left his vehicle twice, saw Torgerson underneath and began kicking him to try and free him from his Jeep. After an unsuccessful attempt, Taylor got back into his vehicle and continued to drive with Torgerson stuck underneath, while running stop signs and stop lights.
Taylor continued driving away after Torgerson freed himself.
Officers later located the unoccupied vehicle in a Motel 6 parking lot in Roseville. Motel staff called police after Taylor asked them to call him a cab and they noticed he was acting unusual.
Taylor then fled the motel and was arrested in a nearby auto dealership.
Torgerson suffered a broken leg, tailbone and ribs, along with numerous abrasions to his tailbone and lower back, requiring several skin grafts to fully heal. The flesh had been ground down to the bone, investigators said.
On Wednesday, Taylor was sentenced to 189 months in prison, or four months shy of 16 years.
In recent years, investigators say Taylor has been arrested multiple times for fraud and theft cases, including incidents where he alleged having car problems and asked for money for repairs.
