Co-defendants sentenced in state trooper assault

(Blue Earth, MN) – Two people have been sentenced for the assault of a state trooper in winter 2018.

Montrell Smith and Anthony Enriquez were sentenced Tuesday and admitted to the Commissioner of Corrections, according to a release from Faribault County Attorney Kathryn Karjala.  Both defendants pled guilty to the first-degree assault of Trooper Doug Rauenhorst.

Smith and Enriquez were each sentenced to seven years in prison.

In December 2018, the defendants fled a traffic stop with Trooper Rauenhorst partially inside the vehicle.  Rauenhorst was forced out of the vehicle while it was traveling at highway speeds and sustained serious injuries.  Enriquez and Smith were later discovered at a bar in Albert Lea.

Trooper Rauenhorst said called the assault “life-altering” in his victim impact statement.  “I will have to deal with repercussions from it for the rest of my life,” said his statement.  “It has affected my ability to advance in my career, and it has affected me and my family in so many ways.  It makes me very said that my children had to see me go through this, as it has changed the way they view the world.”