A driver was going more than 100 mph on Interstate 94 before he turned off his headlights, exited in St. Paul and struck another vehicle, killing the other driver, according to a criminal vehicular homicide charge filed Thursday.

The man who died, 31-year-old Benjamin Michael Villano of St. Paul, was a professional baker.

A trooper was stopped on Pascal Street by eastbound I-94, running speed radar, when he saw a Tesla traveling 84 mph in a 55-mph zone shortly before 2 a.m. Wednesday.

The trooper drove after the vehicle and had not activated his squad’s emergency lights or siren as he tried to catch up to the Tesla, which had increased its speed to more than 100 mph, according to the criminal complaint. The driver turned off his headlights as he approached the Dale Street exit.

The trooper, who lost sight of the Tesla as it went to the top of the exit ramp, saw sparks and smoke coming from the intersection, the complaint said. He found the driver had crashed into a Toyota RAV4 at Dale Street and Rondo Avenue.

It appeared the Tesla struck the Toyota’s front passenger door, pushing the Toyota across several lanes of traffic and into a retaining wall. The trooper couldn’t access the Toyota’s driver, Villano, to render aid. The St. Paul Fire Department responded and medics pronounced him dead.

The Tesla’s driver was identified as 22-year-old Musab Ibrahim Kosar, of Fridley, and the passenger was a 19-year-old from St. Paul. Both were injured, said they had no memory of the crash and were taken to the hospital, according to the complaint.

The passenger was diagnosed with fractures and a dislocated hip. Kosar had similar injuries and a large cut to his forehead.

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When the passenger was notified the Toyota’s driver had died, she “became very emotional,” according to the complaint. She said “she had asked Kosar to stop speeding that evening. (She) said they had broken up earlier in the day and were discussing their relationship after going to get food.”

Kosar is accused of operating a vehicle in a “grossly negligent manner.” He remained hospitalized when the complaint was filed Thursday. An attorney wasn’t listed for him in the court file.

Villano worked at the Bread Lab for Rose Street Patisserie in St. Paul and Patisserie 46 in Minneapolis. He previously worked at Wee Claddagh at Selby Avenue and Dale Street in St. Paul, baking for that location and Claddagh Coffee on West Seventh Street.

The victim of a 2014 kidnapping and attempted rape in Maplewood heard an admission in court Thursday from her attacker, who eluded investigators until a DNA match last year.

The woman, now 36, sat in a Ramsey County courtroom with her parents as Gregory Alan Trepanier, 56, admitted that he got inside her car as she was leaving a bar, pointed a gun at her and told her to drive to a spot where he intended to sexually assault her.

Trepanier, of Maplewood, was arrested and charged in March 2024 with kidnapping and attempted first-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with the incident in the early morning hours of Nov. 23, 2014.

He pleaded guilty to kidnapping Thursday as part of a deal he reached with the prosecution, which agreed to dismiss the attempted sexual assault charge.

The state also agreed to not pursue charges against Trepanier in two other alleged kidnappings that involved a gun and threats of sexual assault on Feb. 23, 2014. The alleged incidents occurred in North St. Paul and Maplewood.

Gregory Alan Trepanier (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

Trepanier remains jailed ahead of sentencing, which is scheduled for Jan. 16.

Under the plea deal, he faces a prison term at the “high end” of state sentencing guidelines, which will be determined through his prior criminal history. It includes stalking and indecent exposure convictions in 2019 stemming from two incidents on one day in August 2018 in White Bear Lake and Vadnais Heights.

DNA collected from inside her car

According to the criminal complaint, the woman, then 25, reported about 2:30 a.m. that she had been kidnapped in the parking lot of the Dog House Bar on Woodlynn Avenue, east of White Bear Avenue and south of Interstate 694.

She told police she went to the bar with friends, and got into her car alone after it closed. When she began backing out of her parking spot, a man wearing a black ski mask with a red stripe, black hooded sweatshirt and blue sweatpants opened her passenger side door and got inside her car.

He pointed a gun at her and told her to drive to a parking lot of a senior-living facility where he said he was going to rape her. He put a gun on his lap and threatened to hurt her if she didn’t comply with his demands. He ordered her to remove her pants, and he removed his own.

He touched himself, and then suddenly said, “Oh (expletive)” and apologized several times, the complaint read. He got out of her vehicle and left on foot.

Detectives were able to gather DNA evidence from inside the car.

At the time, the BCA was unable to connect the DNA evidence to a suspect. However, BCA scientists found a match after running the sample through their database as they routinely do because new DNA profiles are often added to the database. In February 2024, the DNA returned a match to Trepanier, whose DNA had been submitted in a separate case.

That led to a search warrant for another DNA sample from Trepanier. The BCA concluded the match would not occur “more than once among unrelated individuals in the world population.”

Hoping for an arrest

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Trepanier denied being involved in the kidnapping and attempted assault.

The complaint said that for decades Trepanier has lived at a home about a half-mile from the senior living facility where he ordered the woman to park.

In court Thursday, Trepanier, under questioning by his attorney Sarah Prentice-Mott, said he got into the woman’s car with a gun “to commit another sexual felony.”

Prentice-Mott asked him for clarification, whether his intent was to commit first-degree criminal sexual conduct. He affirmed.

Afterward, outside the courtroom, the victim’s parents said she has stayed strong over the years, while hoping for an arrest.

“To see him again is another story,” her mother said, adding her daughter cried at times during the court hearing.

By JOSH BOAK and SONIA PÉREZ D.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration said Thursday that it had reached trade frameworks with Argentina, Ecuador, El Salvador and Guatemala.

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The frameworks are about increasing the ability of U.S. firms to sell industrial and agricultural products in these countries, according to a senior administration official who insisted on anonymity as a condition for briefing reporters on a call about the agreements.

The White House also released statements on the frameworks, which have yet to be finalized and are expected to be signed within roughly two weeks. It’s all part of a broader effort by President Donald Trump to rewrite the rules of global commerce through the use of broad tariffs.

President Javier Milei of Argentina hailed his country’s first bilateral trade framework with the U.S. in nearly a decade as “tremendous news.”

“As you can see, we are strongly committed to making Argentina great again,” he said.

The frameworks touch on an array of subjects, including efforts to reduce nontariff barriers and cut tariffs to 0% on American-made goods as well as commitments to not impose digital services taxes on U.S. companies. There would also be tariff relief on select products from these countries. For example, import licenses in these countries would be eliminated and streamlined, while nations would agree to resolve issues on intellectual property rights.

Under the tariffs previously announced at the end of July by Trump, goods imported from Argentina, El Salvador and Guatemala are taxed at 10%, as the U.S. runs a trade surplus with each of those countries. Products from Ecuador, with which America runs a trade deficit, are taxed at 15%.

Guatemala President Bernardo Arévalo called the framework “good news” and said his country would be in a position to attract new investments.

He said that 70% of the products Guatemala exports to the U.S. will face zero tariffs under the framework, as exclusions are granted for goods the U.S. is unable to make. All other goods would still be subject to the 10% tariff.

The U.S. senior administration official said that tariffs in these nations could be reduced on coffee, cocoa and bananas.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trump have each suggested that the tariffs are being relaxed as affordability issues are a key concern for U.S. voters.

Pérez D. reported from Guatemala City, Guatemala. AP writer Isabel DeBre contributed to this report from Santiago, Chile.

Members of the National Soccer Hall of Fame surprised Tony Sanneh with big news on Thursday: the St. Paul native will be part of its 2026 induction class.

Sanneh will go into the U.S. hall alongside Chris Wondolowski, Tobin Heath and Heather O’Reilly on May 1 in Frisco, Texas.

“Honored, surprised. I put a lot of hard work into this, but I had a lot of support,” an emotional Sanneh said in a video posted on social media. “I appreciate everybody.”

Sanneh has been on the cusp of this honor. Last year, he barely missed out on induction as a veteran finalist. He and Chris Armas each received 19 votes from the 24-member voting committee, but Armas won on a tiebreaker over Sanneh and got into the hall.

This time, Sanneh is in.

Fellow St. Paulite Manny Lagos was alongside Sanneh during their youth, collegiate and pro careers. He was there again to help share the hall of fame induction with Sanneh on Thursday.

“It’s a long-time coming,” Lagos, now Minnesota United’s chief development officer, told the Pioneer Press. “From being one of the best contributors to the U.S. men’s national team and their run in 2002 to his post-soccer career in lifting up kids, it’s a well-deserved honor.”

Sanneh, 54, made 43 appearances with the U.S. men’s national team from 1997 to 2005. He missed out on the 1998 FIFA World Cup but became an indispensable player for the Americans at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, playing every minute of all five matches.

At 6-foot-2, he earned the nickname “Big Cat.”

Sanneh was born in St. Paul, attended St. Paul Academy played for the St. Paul Blackhawks club team and then collegiately at Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He became the program’s career scoring leader as a striker — with 53 goals and 32 assists — in his four years (1990-93).

His 15-year professional career started in lower-level U.S. teams and climbed to the German Bundesliga. He played for Minnesota Thunder and that led to him being an MLS original with D.C. United during the league’s first year in 1996. With Sanneh, D.C. won consecutive MLS Cups and he remains the only player to score in back-to-back finals.

The defender/midfielder spent three years apiece with Herta Berlin and FC Nurnberg before wrapping up with four more stints with MLS clubs.

Sanneh post-playing career had a positive impact back home in St. Paul, starting the nonprofit Sanneh Foundation in the early 2000s to help children in the city.

Sanneh’s dad hails from Gambia and his mother, who was a social worker, is from Wisconsin.

“It was always about helping others,” Sanneh said in a U.S. soccer video. “For me, so many people helped me become who I became.”