(UPDATE) Charges Filed in Most Recent Rochester Shooting Case

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - The charges filed against the suspect in the most recent shooting incident in Rochester allege that he fired a gun at his brother's girlfriend.

According to a criminal complaint filed today in Olmsted County Court, Rochester police responded last Sunday night around 10:30 p.m. to a report of gunfire at the Village Green Townhomes in the 1800 block of 41st Street Northwest. When officers arrived at the scene, they were approached by a woman who reported that she had been shot at by her boyfriend's brother following an altercation with her boyfriend.

The court document says the victim told police that she and her boyfriend were in an argument that led to her being assaulted. She indicated that her boyfriend had pulled out two of her braids on the left side of her head and showed the officers a bald spot where the braids had been.

The woman stated that she then accompanied her boyfriend to a private park at a nearby apartment complex where her boyfriend stayed with his brother. While they were talking, the victim told police that two females arrived. One was carrying a stick and said something similar to, "You brought this on yourself."

Fearing that she was about to be assaulted for a second time, the victim told the officers she grabbed a nearby rock and told everyone to stay away before she ran in the direction of the nearby Rochester Fire Station on 41st Street Northwest.

She then reported that, while she was walking home, she spotted her boyfriend's brother’s car in the area. She also saw that her boyfriend was in the vehicle, which drove toward her and forced her to jump out of the way to avoid being hit.

The woman told police that she responded by throwing the rock at the car, shattering the rear window. That's when she says her boyfriend's brother turned around and fired multiple shots at her through the broken window.

When police arrived at the scene, they located the car with a shattered back window and seven spent shell casings. The officers also found evidence of bullet strikes on the walls of nearby garages and townhomes. While speaking to the officers, the woman stated that she realized her phone was missing. The criminal complaint says the vehicle was towed for searching and the victim's cell phone was found inside.

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The court document indicates investigators obtained and executed a search warrant at the residence of 24-year-old Erimondre Jamall Lee and found a loaded 15-round magazine along with more than 40 loose 9mm bullets in a bedroom at the townhome. The search also led to the discovery of a higher-capacity drum-style magazine and a box of ammunition that matched the shell casings found at the scene of the shooting.

Lee, who denied any involvement in the shooting, has been charged with drive-by shooting and second-degree assault. His conditional bail has been set at $20,000.

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(previous version below)

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - Rochester police today reported that an arrest has been made in connection with the most recent shooting in the city.

A statement issued Monday by Rochester Police Department Communications Coordinator Amanda Grayson indicated that officers were dispatched around 10:30 Sunday night to a report of gunfire in the 1800 block of 41st Street Northwest. The responding officers found an unoccupied vehicle with a shattered window in the parking lot of the Village Green Apartments. No injuries were reported, but spent shell casings were found at the scene.

Grayson said 23-year-old Erimondre Lee was arrested on Wednesday as a suspect in the shooting. He is currently awaiting arraignment on a second-degree assault charge.

It was the fourth shooting incident in Rochester over a span of less than a month and the third reported along a stretch of 41st Street Northwest less than a mile long. The first was reported on June 17 at the Gates of Rochester apartment complex, where police say shots were fired during a drug deal that resulted in charges against two men.

The second shooting in that same area occurred on July 3 and resulted in the death of 35-year-old Sadik Yusuf at the Village of Essex Park Apartments. Thirty-one-year-old Ibrahim Abukaar Abdi has been charged with second-degree murder in that case.

An Iowa man is suspected in the fourth shooting, which was reported in the early morning hours of July 7 at Quarry Hill Park in Northeast Rochester. An arrest warrant has been issued for 28-year-old Lamarion Joseph, who is accused of assaulting a man and then shooting at the victim as he was driving away.

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