POLICE: Man responsible for I-35 standoff found with 44 pounds of meth

A Minneapolis man is facing five felony charges after police say he attempted to import 44 pounds of meth from California and then engaged in a standoff with law enforcement that forced the closure of Interstate 35 near Faribault on Sunday for more than four hours.

According to the criminal complaint, an agent with the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office and Southeast Minnesota Violent Crime Enforcement Team (SMVCET) learned on July 21 that Donald Ray Sanderson, 41, would be returning to Minnesota from California.

Upon receiving this information, law enforcement suspected that Sanderson, who has an extensive criminal history and was under investigation for narcotics related crimes, might have traveled to California to acquire controlled substances.

Police attempted to pull over a vehicle believed to be Sanderson’s in Steele County along northbound I-35. However, the complaint states Sanderson drove north to Faribault, where he was forced to stop after his car incurred “debilitating damage.”

The complaint states Sanderson exited his vehicle brandishing a firearm. An officer told him to drop the weapon but he refused, firing a single shot into the ground and starting a standoff which would last for over four hours.

Shortly before 7 p.m., law enforcement say Sanderson attempted to shoot himself. After failing to do so he tossed the weapon and fled into a nearby field, where he was tackled by a K-9 from the Apple Valley Police Department.

In the vehicle, police say they found 44 pounds of meth, hypodermic needles, 50 pills of Alprazolam, and over 200 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl, as well as a heat sealer and heat seal packaging, a digital scale and multiple cell phones.

If convicted of all charges against him, Sanderson could spend up to 135 years in prison and/or face fines north of $4 million.