17-Year-Old Charged With Carjacking, Aggravated Robbery In Brooklyn Park, Minneapolis Incidents
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - A 17-year-old boy from Brooklyn Park has been charged in connection to a string of robberies and carjackings between December of 2020 and April of 2021.
He was charged in Hennepin County on Wednesday as an adult, and faces a total of nine charges including aggravated robbery, theft of a motor vehicle and assault with a dangerous weapon.
The first charges stem from an incident which took place on Dec. 4, 2020 on the 2500 block of Humboldt Avenue South in Minneapolis. The criminal complaint says that a woman had arrived home from Christmas shopping when she opened the back of her car and the suspect ran up to her while holding a handgun. He allegedly struck her in the head and she fell to the ground. Then he stole her car and fled the area, charges say.
Roughly 15 minutes later surveillance video shows the suspect pulling into a gas station in Crystal. Court documents say that gas station employees called the police when the suspect and two others used the victim's bank cards to purchase $1,050 in gift cards.
In a second criminal complaint, the suspect allegedly robbed a high school classmate who was attempting to buy an iPhone from him. The two met on Feb. 6, 2021 and the suspect told the boy to get into his van. The boy said there was another boy in the driver's seat of the car.
When he got into the van the suspect told him to hand over his wallet, which contained roughly $340. He complied and felt a gun pressed into his back, the complaint states.
Later, in a Miranda interview, the suspected said "we pulled up, [Victim] hopped in, we then took his money, we took his phone." However, he claimed the gun was a BB gun.
A little over a week later, Minneapolis police were dispatched to the 3600 block of Thomas Avenue North on a report of a motor vehicle theft at gun point. The criminal complaint says that on Feb. 15, another high school classmate was giving the suspect a ride, when he asked to pick up his friend. The driver agreed and the friend sat in the back seat behind him and eventually started strangling him.
The suspect then allegedly pulled a semi-automatic handgun and pointed it at the driver, pistol whipping him. Charges say that police arrested the suspect at a Cub Foods in Brooklyn Park two days later. In a Miranda interview, the suspect admitted to driving a stolen car but refused to discuss how he came into possession of the car.
Lastly, the suspect was charged for allegedly shooting a man on April 17, 2021 in Brooklyn Park.
Police responded to the scene on 6200 West Broadway Avenue and arrived to find a man who was in the area buy a firearm from a person with the Snapchat handle "Sosa."
The man said got into the back of a Black SUV and noticed the driver and front seat passenger were both carrying Glock handguns with extended magazines. Court documents say that the man handed over $500 for a handgun and was then told to step out of the car. But when he stepped out, he was shot in the leg, allegedly by the suspect.
The suspect was arrested a little over a week later in Coon Rapids, in connection to a separate incident. He had a .40 caliber Glock handgun with him at the time.
He was ordered to stand trial as an adult by a judge on Tuesday. He is currently in custody.