Judge denies dropping Flores charges

The criminal case against a former Minnesota State Trooper will continue after an Olmsted County judge denied a motion to dismiss the charges against him.
Shane Roper, 33, Hayfield, was charged after a fatal car crash on May 18, 2024, that killed an Owatonna High School senior three weeks before graduation.
Olivia Flores, 18, was a backseat passenger in a car that was struck broadside by a patrol vehicle Roper was driving. She died the next day from her injuries; five other people sustained injuries, including a “ride-along” passenger in the patrol car.
The criminal complaint against Roper used witness statements and information from the squad’s computer system to allege he was driving 83 mph as he approached a busy intersection near Apache Mall in Rochester. The speed limit in the area is 40 mph.
Further information indicated he had not activated the patrol car’s lights or siren as he pursued someone he suspected of speeding, though he later claimed it was not an “active pursuit.”
Roper faces one count each of second-degree manslaughter and criminal vehicular homicide, as well as three felony counts of criminal vehicular operation, two counts of gross misdemeanor CVO and two counts of careless driving.
His next court appearance is a plea hearing, set for May 29.
In addition to the motion to dismiss, Roper’s defense attorney asked the judge to dismiss evidence of Roper’s prior driving record, which was also denied.
Of note in the motion to dismiss is Roper’s argument that there are insufficient allegations of causation in the record, because the facts demonstrate the driver of the vehicle Flores was riding in had caused the accident, not Roper.
Roper argued he proceeded through the intersection with a green light, and (the other vehicle) should have yielded to his patrol car. He said the failure to yield caused the accident, not his actions.
In her decision, the judge wrote she “finds these arguments unpersuasive. The driver of (the vehicle Flores was in) did in fact have an obligation to yield to the oncoming traffic, however a jury could find that her actions were completely appropriate, and that the collision would not have occurred if Mr. Roper had not been travelling 43 miles OVER the posted speed limit without lights or sirens.
“It is reasonable to believe that (the driver) would not have seen Mr. Roper’s squad when she entered the intersection to attempt her turn,” she added.
Judge Lisa Hayne reserved the decision on the defense’s motion for a change of venue, acknowledging the significant pretrial publicity surrounding the case.
She granted Roper’s motion for the State to continue its constitutional obligations to disclose any exculpatory evidence.
The Flores family’s attorney, Dan McIntosh, said the court order “underscores the gravity of the charges against Mr. Roper and the legal complexities involved in the case… The case continues to be watched closely due to its implications for law enforcement accountability and public safety.”