Guilty Pleas Entered for Shooting, Assault, Robbery
Rochester, MN (KROC AM News) - One of the men arrested following a shooting that occurred during a car chase in Rochester earlier this year has pleaded guilty to a second degree assault charge. 22-year-old Keith West also admitted to a felony riot charge connected to an assault and robbery last September.
Rochester police say the shooting in February started as a “drug deal that went bad” in the parking lot of the Taco Bell store near Target North. A teenager reported that he got into a vehicle with two men and one of them pointed a gun at him. The teen told police he then fled back to his car and began chasing the other vehicle while he phoned 911 to report the incident. Police say shots were fired from the vehicle being chased by the teenager on 37th Street Northwest near West River Parkway.
A state trooper later located the gunman’s car near Hoover Elementary School, which led to the arrest of West and 21-year-old Jamil James. He is scheduled to appear at an evidentiary hearing later this month.
The riot charge stems from an incident at the Red Carpet Inn along South Broadway. West and two other men were accused of beating up a 38-year-old man and stealing his wallet. The victim had gotten into an argument with an 18-year-old woman about money and that she contacted West and the two other men charged in the case.
West is scheduled to be sentenced in both cases on July 18th.
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