Chase Suspect Pleads Not Guilty in Theft Case

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — A Rapid City man shot and wounded by a Highway Patrol trooper after a chase earlier this fall has pleaded not guilty to unrelated theft charges.

The Rapid City Journal reports 27-year-old William Chandler is accused of stealing more than $1,000 in items from a Target store Aug. 7. Co-defendant Frank Fast Wolf Bender also has pleaded not guilty.

Chandler is accused of leading officers on a chase after a trooper tried to pull him over for speeding on Sept. 30. They say he eventually was caught and arrested but managed to escape his handcuffs and steal a squad car. He was shot after allegedly threatening to back the squad car into a trooper. He's pleaded not guilty in that case to charges ranging from aggravated assault to escape.

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