POLICE BLOTTER: GOLF COURSE CHASE CRIMINAL PLEADS GUILTY

By Torleif Sorenson on 6/11/15

Those of you who previously followed our articles at oobgolf.com might remember last year's story of Kendall Scott Feist, a 34-year-old methamphetamine dealer from Bismarck, North Dakota. Feist already had felony warrants for his arrest on July 17, 2014, when Moorhead, Minnesota police officers found him in an industrial business park. When police attempted to stop him on the city's southeast side, Feist fled the scene in a large black pickup truck and proceeded over Interstate 94 and onto Village Green Golf Course.

Your correspondent reported at that time that Terry Kragero, Jr. was at the Village Green practice range hitting golf balls with his five-year-old son. (1,000 points to Mr. Kragero for introducing his boy to golf!) That's when he heard sirens and then saw Feist's vehicle tear through the course:

"He was coming straight at us. I grabbed my son, and we kind of started running back toward the clubhouse."

Village Green's course superintendent, Rick Dauner, did not see the chase, but he certainly saw the damage Feist caused on several holes:

"It was mainly tire tracks, and where he turned, he ripped up the grass a little bit. We're lucky... he didn't take out anybody on the golf course.

Feist then drove onto westbound Interstate 94, crossing the Red River of the North back into Fargo, North Dakota. The truck was eventually found at West Acres Mall, after which he was tracked down and arrested by North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation officers and Fargo police.

The fact that both uniformed and plain-clothes officers had their weapons drawn while searching the mall for Feist left some mall employees and shoppers shaken. That event itself led Fargo police to review and discuss the chase. Over in Moorhead, police sergeant Scott Kostohryz told The Forum that officers did not pursue Feist and the truck onto the golf course, but obviously the video we included at the top of this article disproved Kostohryz.

Today, The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead reported that Feist (right) has pleaded guilty to changes in federal court stemming from that case. Federal charges were necessary in part because Feist crossed a state line during the high-speed chase. His guilty plea to charges of trafficking methamphetamines has earned him a minimum of 20 years in prison which, in this writer's personal opinion, Feist richly deserves. When he is formally sentenced on June 24, Feist could receive life in prison.

As for Village Green GC, things are back to normal, of course, thanks to repairs done by course superintendent Rick Dauner and his staff.


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Image via InForum