Guilty Plea Entered in Quarry Hill Park Shooting

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A guilty plea has been entered in a criminal case involving a shooting that occurred at a Rochester park last summer.

Plea Agreement in Rochester Shooting Case

An Iowa man, 18-year-old Lamarion Knox Joseph, today entered into a plea agreement and admitted to a charge of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. In exchange, the Olmsted County Attorney's Office agreed to dismiss a felony charge of reckless discharge of a firearm and a gross misdemeanor theft charge.

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Confronted in Parking Lot at Quarry Hill Park

Court documents indicate he was arrested in June of last year following an investigation by the Rochester Police Department. The criminal complaint says officers were dispatched to a southeast Rochester gas station late on the night of June 7 and spoke with a man who reported that he and a woman had been at Quarry Hill Park that evening and were confronted by another man when they returned to the parking lot.

photo by Andy Brownell TSM-Rochester

Assailant Had Handgun

According to the charges, the victim stated that the other man pulled out a handgun and used it to strike him in the face. The victim then told officers he was able to get into his vehicle and, as he was beginning to drive away, the man struck the driver's-side window with the pistol before he heard one or two gunshots as he exited the parking lot.

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Suspect Identified by Woman With Victim

The criminal complaint says investigators then spoke with the woman who had been with the victim at the park. The court document says she told officers that her ex-boyfriend, identified as Joseph, had assaulted the victim. She stated that the victim ran to his car after the assault and that Joseph fired a single shot at the vehicle as the victim was driving away.

Video camera lens

Surveillance Video Captured Portions of Incident

At the scene, police recovered a single shell casing and also observed a nearby trail of blood. The criminal complaint also notes that surveillance cameras at Quarry Hill Park captured portions of the incident. It also indicates that the officers who spoke with the victim observed a laceration on his face, along with blood on his face, neck, and clothing.

Joseph is scheduled to be sentenced in September. His plea agreement states that prosecutors will recommend a three-year prison sentence.