Star Tribune
Minneapolis 18-year-old sentenced for string of armed robberies that terrorized local businesses
A Minneapolis man was sentenced to nearly eight years in prison Tuesday for his role in a string of armed robberies he committed as a minor targeting local businesses.
Ja’Bron Dedrick Duane Jiles, 18, was charged as an adult in February in connection with 10 robberies across the city that victimized employees and customers at food and retail establishments throughout a five-week period in 2021.
He was accused of robbing Checkpoint Welding, Mother Earth Gardens, Tao Natural Foods Café, Cuppa Java, Bryn Mawr Market, Lustre Skin Care, DreamHaven Books, Mel-O-Glaze Bakery and a BP gas station at 6004 Penn Av. S.
At the time, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said that “accountability through the adult system was the appropriate path” given how lucky it was that no one lost their lives during the attacks.
Jiles admitted guilt in six of those cases last month under a plea agreement that would allow him to serve 95 months behind bars and four years’ probation upon release. That includes an additional 48-month stayed sentence.
State guidelines require that two-thirds of a criminal sentence be served in prison and the remaining third served on conditional release. But with credit for more than 600 days in jail, Jiles is expected to get out in under four years.
On Tuesday, Jiles appeared in Hennepin County District Court wearing an orange prison jumpsuit to hear victim-impact statements. In written submissions read by Hennepin County victim advocate Sheila Poechmann, the owners of Cuppa Java and Bryn Mawr Market described the terror of Oct. 18, 2021, when Jiles assaulted a patron at the coffee shop, stole her laptop and robbed both Penn Avenue businesses at gunpoint.
Both stores lamented a significant reduction in foot traffic from customers, which forced them to shorten business hours and lose profits. The robberies also took an emotional toll on their staff.
“Most of the employees are refusing to work evenings and may be looking for other jobs,” Cuppa Java’s owner wrote.
In one case — ultimately dismissed under the plea agreement — Jiles was accused of pulling a handgun on a woman holding an infant at a friend’s apartment, where he allegedly made off with three cellphones and $2,000 in cash.
“I feel he deserves all the consequences of his actions,” an unnamed victim from that gun-pointing incident wrote in an impact statement.
As Judge Hilary Caligiuri delivered the sentence and acknowledged the use of a firearm in these offenses, Jiles began speaking to an empty courtroom — apparently taking issue with the allegations involved in the dismissed case and facts of others.
“I would never put no gun to no baby’s head. I would never beat someone over $150,” he told the judge. “I don’t want to be lied on like that.”
During the spontaneous outburst, Jiles also apologized to his victims and referenced his “messed-up” childhood, saying that he hasn’t always gotten the medication he needs.
Jiles has been charged with over 30 cases since 2017. Recent charges have been pending a long time because at one point Jiles was found incompetent to stand trial, but another psychologist re-examined Jiles and found he was malingering.
Public defender Kathryn Cima noted that Jiles earned his GED while incarcerated and has grown in the four years she’s been working with him.
“If anyone thinks he’s not remorseful, that’s not right,” Cima said, adding that Jiles may not always express it well. “He’s taking responsibility for this behavior.”
“I expect that Ja’Bron will come out and be in a better place.”
Caligiuri then wished Jiles luck in prison.
“I hope you come out productive and have the life you want.”
Jiles nodded and stood so deputies could secure his handcuffs. As they led him away, he turned to the male clerk and said: “I like your suit.”
Staff writer Kim Hyatt contributed to this report.
After months of maintenance problems and safety concerns in downtown St. Paul’s Lowry Apartments, city officials condemned the building, forcing dozens of tenants to abruptly relocate to hotels this week.
On Monday afternoon, city staff responded to a plumbing leak in the 11-story building at 345 Wabasha St. N. Officials reported significant damage and signs of vandalism, including copper wire theft that left electrical systems exposed. The leak also raised concerns about mold.
To make repairs, the building’s water must be shut off — a move that would leave tenants without boiler heat and fire sprinklers, Deputy Mayor Jaime Tincher said in a Tuesday email to state Rep. Maria Isa Pérez-Vega and City Council Member Rebecca Noecker, who represent the area.
After determining heat and water could not be restored quickly, Tincher wrote: “There was no other option than to conclude the building was not safe for residents to stay.”
Property manager Halverson and Blaiser Group (HBG) agreed to provide alternative housing for tenants for up to 30 days, Tincher said. City staff worked with Ramsey County’s Housing Stability team and Metro Transit to help 71 residents pack and move.
Before then, the building belonged to downtown St. Paul’s largest property owner, Madison Equities. After the January death of the company’s founder and longtime principal, Jim Crockarell, the dire state of the group’s real estate portfolio became apparent.
The Lowry Apartments, the sole property with a high concentration of low-income housing, quickly became the most troubled. Residents reported frequent break-ins, pest infestations, inoperable elevators and more, to no avail.
Star Tribune
Metro Transit allocated $12 million to boost security, cleanliness on Twin Cities light rail and buses
They will be soon. With more money to spend, Metro Transit plans to bring on 40 more this year. With their ranks growing, TRIP agents, clad in blue, have recently started covering the Metro C and D rapid transit lines between Brooklyn Center and downtown Minneapolis.
The big investment in public safety initiatives comes as Metro Transit is seeing an uptick in ridership that plunged dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic and has been slow to recover. This year ridership has been a bright spot, the agency said.
Through October, the agency has provided 40.1 million rides, up 7% compared with the first 10 months of 2023. In September, the agency saw its highest monthly ridership in four years, averaging nearly 157,000 rides on weekdays, agency data shows.
At the same time, crime is down 8.4% during the first three quarters of 2024 compared to the same time period last year, according to Metro Transit Interim Police Chief Joe Dotseth. However, problems still persist.
On Nov. 29, Sharif Darryl Walker-El, Jr., 33, was fatally shot on a Green Line train in St. Paul. Just a week earlier, a woman was shot in the leg while on the train and taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Earlier this year, a robbery attempt on the Green Line in St. Paul left a passenger shot and wounded.
“Our officers are spending time on the system and sending a clear message to everyone: Crime will not be tolerated on transit,” Dotseth said. “And we will work to ensure those commit those crimes are held accountable.”
The ACLU of Minnesota has sued Otter Tail County, its sheriff and correctional officers at its jail, alleging unlawful punishment of a man known to them who has serious mental health issues.
Ramsey Kettle, 33, a member of White Earth Nation and lifelong Otter Tail County resident, was jailed in February on charges that were dropped two months later. The ACLU says that the sheriff’s office attempted to cover up the mistreatment, but a whistleblower working at the jail reported the abuse to the state. A 46-page lawsuit was filed this week in U.S. District Court of Minnesota.
“Mr. Kettle was subjected to extreme, punitive treatment in violation of his constitutional rights and standards for basic human dignity,” the ACLU said in a statement. “Otter Tail County officers, with approval of the acting jail administrator, kept Mr. Kettle locked up in solitary confinement for days without food, water, or appropriate medical and mental health care.”
Otter Tail County spokesperson Shannon Terry said in an email to the Minnesota Star Tribune that “Due to the impending litigation, Otter Tail County has no comment or statement at this time.” Terry did confirm that Kettle was released from custody April 24, when the charges were dropped.
Kettle was immediately placed in solitary confinement after he arrived at the jail Feb. 9, the lawsuit says. Jail staff didn’t assess Kettle’s poor mental health, which the ACLU says was well-documented and known to officers. The ACLU says Kettle “exhibited increasing signs of physical and mental distress” and officers allegedly “laughed at him, mocked him, and left him to suffer.”
Kettle had been booked at the jail multiple times before. In March 2022, he was convicted of making terroristic threats and sentenced to two years. On the day he was scheduled to be released from Rush City Correctional Facility after serving his full sentence, he was charged in Otter Tail with four counts of aggravated witness tampering stemming from the conviction.
“Rather than going home on February 9, 2024, as he had anticipated for nearly two years, he was transferred to Otter Tail County Jail to await trial on these new charges. The new charges were unfounded and intended solely to keep Mr. Kettle incarcerated,” the lawsuit states.
District Judge Johnathan Judd dismissed the charges as lacking foundation.
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