Ex-soldier charged with booking in MN teen traffic fatality reports

ROCHESTER, MN (KROC-AM News) – The former Minnesota state trooper charged in the traffic death of an Owatonna high school student in Rochester has reported to the Olmsted County Jail.

Court records show 32 year old Shane Roper After his first court appearance in the case in August, he never underwent the usual fingerprinting and booking process.

A September ruling from an Olmsted County judge said that was the case “inadvertently failed” to order Roper to submit to trial.

The Hayfield man is charged Second-degree manslaughter, criminal homicide by vehicle and multiple counts of criminal use of a vehicle for the crash that claimed his life 18 year old Olivia Flores and injured five other people.

The criminal complaint alleges Roper accelerated to a speed of 83 miles per hour without the patrol car’s emergency lights on as he headed east on 12th Street Southwest after exiting Highway 14.

According to court documents, investigators determined he took his foot off the accelerator just 1.4 seconds before the fatal collision.

Roper was later fired from the State Patrol following an internal investigation in September. Olmsted County Adult Jail records show Roper reported to jail Monday morning.

He was arraigned and released Monday morning and remains free without bail.

Roper is scheduled to go to trial in March. His next court date is scheduled for November.

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