Trial date set for Ellingson

A Tracy, Minn., man will go to trial on Nov. 30 on charges that arose after he was allegedly pursued by police on March 17 in Jamestown.
Lee Charles Ellingson, 43, appeared in Southeast District Court in Jamestown Wednesday along with his attorney, Nicholas Thornton, for a motion hearing. Thornton had filed some procedural motions acted on by Judge Thomas Merrick at the hearing.
The trail is scheduled to go four days, according to Merrick. He said given the amount of publicity the case has received in the media, it might take one day to pick a jury.
Ellingson is charged with reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and driving while under the influence of liquor or any other drug or substance, all Class C felonies. He is also charged with fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, a Class A misdemeanor.
Ellingson allegedly led law enforcement officers from the Jamestown Police Department, Stutsman County Sheriff’s Office and North Dakota Highway Patrol on a chase that started at the Exxon convenience store at 808 20th St. SW and ended in the 1000 block of 4th Avenue Southwest, the street between the Jamestown Motel and Dairy Queen.
During the pursuit Ellingson allegedly rammed law enforcement vehicles, according to witness accounts and information released by law enforcement agencies. When he stopped on 4th Avenue Southwest, Ellingson allegedly tried to run over a police officer. It was at this time that a sheriff’s deputy and Jamestown police officer fired their weapons into the vehicle Ellingson was driving. The officers have not been identified.
Ellingson was transported by ambulance to the Jamestown Regional Medical Center after the pursuit ended for treatment of injuries. He was then flown by air ambulance to a medical facility in Fargo. Ellingson is free on bond.
The maximum penalty for a Class C felony is five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The maximum penalty is a Class A misdemeanor is one year in jail and a $3,000 fine.