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2 Killed After Hwy. 212 Chase Wanted In Attempted Auto Theft

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The two people who were killed after leading police on a high-speed chase through Eden Prairie, Minn. were also suspects in an earlier auto theft case, according to criminal complaints.

Investigators say 36-year-old Matthew Serbus, of Brooklyn Center, and 34-year-old Dawn Pfister, of Delavan, Wis., test drove a number of vehicles at a Rochester dealership on Jan. 10 and after they left, the owner noticed three sets of car keys were missing.

Surveillance video at the dealership captured a man, later identified as Serbus, entering the car lot and opening the door to a Jeep Cherokee -- one of the vehicles whose keys were missing.

Serbus was arrested at the scene. He told officers he found the keys by the office building and was trying to return them. He also told police he was staying at a motel with his girlfriend, identified as Pfister.

Officers spoke with Pfister at the motel who said she saw Serbus steal the car keys. She said their plan was to leave Rochester in a stolen vehicle once Serbus returned and that she already started moving their belongings out of the room into the stairwell.

Pfister told police Serbus gave her a set of car keys and that she hid another pair of keys when she heard officers at the door.

Both were charged in the incident.

Then on Friday, Serbus and Pfister were involved in a 45-minute high-speed chase in Eden Prairie during rush hour, which is still being investigated by police.

Authorities eventually brought the car to a stop with a pit maneuver sending it crashing into a wall.

When it came to an end on Highway 212, more than a dozen shots were reportedly fired and both Serbus and Pfister were killed.

Investigators haven't said if both were killed by police or if Pfister was killed by Serbus.

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