Devin Paul Larson, 31, Minot, is charged in district court in Minot with stealing a motor vehicle on Wednesday evening and driving north on Broadway with the vehicle’s owner hanging onto the vehicle.

Larson made an initial appearance on the Class C felony charge on Thursday before Judge Richard Hagar.

Hagar followed the state’s bond recommendation and set bond at $5,000 cash or corporate surety and ordered Larson to have no contact with the alleged victim.

“How do I not have contact with Jane Doe if I don’t know who the hell she is?” Larson asked the judge.

Hagar told him that the alleged victim’s name would be provided to him in a confidential information form.

A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for Feb. 10.

According to the probable cause affidavit filed with the court, the owner of the stolen vehicle told police that she had left the vehicle running at around 7:15 p.m. in southwest Minot. She returned half an hour later to find Larson sitting in the driver’s seat. She thought a co-worker was playing a prank on her until she saw Larson put the vehicle into reverse and accelerate at a high rate of speed backwards, causing the vehicle to squeal. The woman ran after the vehicle, holding onto the rear passenger door. Larson then put the vehicle into drive and drove towards 16th Avenue SW with the alleged victim still holding onto the passenger rear door, then drove it towards South Broadway and headed north on Broadway. Larson then swerved at a snow pile, causing the woman to let go and fall off the roadway into the snow pile in the 1500 block of South Broadway. The woman called police and refused medical attention. Larson also allegedly struck a fire department vehicle at Central Avenue and 1st Street SW, causing minor damage to the passenger rear side bumper, and then abandoned the stolen vehicle at 2nd Avenue SW and 1st Street SW. The stolen vehicle was left with damage to its front bumper.

Larson was located and placed under arrest. He was also charged with Class B misdemeanor reckless driving, Class B misdemeanor leaving the scene of a property damage accident, and Class B misdemeanor driving with a suspended license, his second offense, in Minot Municipal Court.