1 Man Pleads Guilty & Another Skips Court in Rochester Scam Case

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - One of the two out-of-state men accused of scamming a Rochester woman out of thousands of dollars has admitted to a felony charge while the other man was recently a no-show for a court hearing in the case.

21-year-old Gabriel Jude Weatherspoon of South Bend Indiana and 31-year-old Demoonte Tequis Brazil of Athens Georgia were both charged in the case in late April as a result of an investigation by the Rochester Police Department. According to court documents, the two men were accused of running a so-called "law enforcement scam" that cost the victim $16,000.

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The criminal complaint says the victim received a call from a person claiming to be a Lieutenant with the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office, who told her she had missed a court date and would be arrested unless she paid an outstanding $10,000 bond. The woman told investigators she followed the man's instructions and handed over the money to a man she believed was a bail bondsman.

The charges against the two men also indicate the woman provided the same man with another payment of $6000 about an hour after the first exchange. At that point, the woman told police that she realized she might have been scammed and contacted authorities.

Court documents say investigators reviewed surveillance camera videos that recorded the transactions and were able to identify a suspect vehicle, which was pulled over by Rochester police. The criminal complaint says the vehicle was driven by Weatherspoon and one of his passengers was Brazil, who was identified by the victim as the fake bail bondsman.

Weatherspoon today entered a guilty plea to the theft by swindle charge as part of a plea agreement that resulted in the dismissal of a felony count of falsely impersonating another-intent to defraud. He was sentenced to three years on probation and was ordered to pay $12,000 in restitution.

Court records indicate Brazil was scheduled to appear for a hearing in Olmsted County Court last week but failed to show up. The previous week, the judge handling his case agreed to a defense request to allow for his conditional release from jail without bail. Prior to that, his bail had been set at $500,000.

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