Troy Eugene Wichterman, 46, Stanley, is charged in district court in Stanley with Class B felony theft of property, Class C felony terrorizing, Class C felony fleeing from a peace officer in a motor vehicle, 10 Class C felony reckless endangerment charges, Class A misdemeanor criminal mischief, Class A misdemeanor fleeing from a peace officer in a vehicle, and Class B misdemeanor refusal to halt. All of the incidents date back to Nov. 16.

According to a probable cause affidavit filed with the court, a Mountrail County deputy clocked Wichterman driving at 89 mph in a 65 mph zone and tried to stop him. Wichterman fled at a high rate of speed and eventually drove through a fence entering a coulee, where law enforcement lost sight of him. A man then came forward and reported that he and another worker at an oil well location saw Wichterman climb over the fence of a secured area and that Wichterman then approached them and acted as though he had a weapon behind his back. Wichterman told them “I don’t want to hurt you. Get out of your truck.” The man complied and Wichterman then got into the truck and drove repeatedly into the locked gate until he broke through it and drove away. Law enforcement then pursued the stolen pickup, which Wichterman reportedly drove recklessly and nearly caused multiple collisions in Stanley, putting others on the roadway at risk of death or injury. They continued to follow the vehicle until the pursuit was halted in Stanley, where the vehicle was abandoned at a bar. Wichterman and his passenger got out of the vehicle and fled on foot, according to multiple witnesses.

The original vehicle that Wichterman had abandoned at the oil well site was searched and authorities found multiple empty bottles of liquor and shotgun shells. Two fences at the oil well site were damaged as well as a gate to the secured Tesoro yard.

In a separate case, Wichterman is charged in district court in Mountrail County with Class B misdemeanor simple assault for allegedly choking a man on Nov. 1.