Elderly Claremont man to take case to trial

A jury trial is set to begin Monday in the case of an 85-year-old man accused of driving away from a traffic stop, then resisting officers.
Joel Evens Thomas, of Claremont, faces one count each of fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle, a felony; and driving after revocation, having no vehicle insurance, obstructing the legal process and operating a vehicle with expired registration, all misdemeanors.
The charges stem from an incident March 22, when a deputy on patrol on Dodge County Road 1 north of Claremont saw a silver minivan with gold license tabs. The deputy recognized the driver — later identified as Thomas — from prior traffic stops.
He learned Thomas’s driver’s license was revoked, and initiated a traffic stop.
Thomas reportedly told the deputy he did not have an ID with him, nor did he have insurance on the vehicle. When the deputy asked why he didn’t have updated tabs, Thomas said he didn’t have to.
According to the criminal complaint, when told to pull the van into a nearby field drive, Thomas said “I’m going home,” put the vehicle in drive and pulled away.
The deputy followed Thomas as he drove about four miles back to Claremont, eventually blocking Thomas from pulling into the driveway of his residence. Another deputy arrived and blocked Thomas from behind.
Court documents say Thomas got out of his van, but held his hands in front of him as the deputy tried to put handcuffs on him. When the first cuff was placed on Thomas’s left wrist, he quit resisting, the report says, was handcuffed and taken to the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center.
Once there, Thomas told jail staff he had several medical issues that require medication; a call to a local pharmacy indicated Thomas had not filled his prescriptions there for almost a year, the complaint says.
A short time later, OCADC medical staff deemed Thomas a risk due to hypertension, cholesterol, diabetes and colostomy bag; he was taken to Saint Marys Hospital. After being evaluated, jail staff asked that Thomas be turned back over to the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office.
A DCSO deputy responded to the hospital, then took Thomas back to his home in Claremont.