Minnesota Man Accused of Knocking Out Teen During Fight at Rochester Elementary School

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A Rochester man accused of assaulting a teenage boy is facing a felony assault charge. 

That’s according to a criminal complaint filed in Olmsted County Court on Friday. The alleged assault occurred in February. 

The criminal complaint says the Rochester Police Department responded to Riverside Elementary School at 506 5th Ave. Southeast shortly before 6 p.m. on Feb. 19. 

Upon arrival, officers encountered a 17-year-old boy who was unresponsive on the sidewalk. He was described in the complaint to be “breathing, shivering, and his eyes were fluttering, but was not speaking.” 

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The boy became more responsive as he was being transported to the emergency room but was still not speaking, the court document says. 

A detective reviewed surveillance camera footage from the school that showed the victim approach a group of juveniles, estimated to range in age from 9-14, and talk with them. 

An adult male, later identified as 33-year-old Justin Dee White, also approached the group and began talking with the victim. Moments later a scuffle broke out among the juveniles and White is seen preventing the victim from breaking up the fight, the complaint says. 

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White is then seen punching the victim, who had his back to him, on the right side of the teen’s head. He’s then spotted on camera leaving the area on foot and walking northwest towards the downtown holiday gas station where officers identified him through security footage taken at the store, the complaint says. 

Police spoke with the victim the day after the alleged assault who said his younger brother was being attacked and he attempted to intervene when his sibling was being fought by two people, according to the charging document. 

In a phone interview with law enforcement, White told officers he had walked by the school on the date of the incident but said the kids were playing and that no fight was occurring, the complaint says. 

White made his first appearance in Olmsted County Court on a felony third-degree assault charge. He was released without bail and is due back in court next month.

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