Star Tribune
Third man sentenced in August 2020 arson at Target Headquarters
A man convicted of arson for participating in the August 2020 rioting that damaged Target’s downtown Minneapolis headquarters was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in federal prison in a hearing cut short by an outburst at the judge.
Leroy Lemonte Perry Williams, 37, interrupted closing remarks from Senior U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson in St. Paul, shouting that the judge’s decision was “unconstitutional.” Moments earlier, Magnuson sided with federal prosecutors who called for a “significant sentence” to serve as a deterrent in the event further unrest visits the state.
“While no one hopes for widespread riots in the future, the likelihood of such events remains a distinct possibility as this nation grapples with a period of civil unrest,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Chelsea Walcker argued in a previous filing with the court.
Williams, of Minneapolis. was first charged in November 2020 with arson for his participation in downtown Minneapolis rioting that started with the false rumor that a man had been killed that day by Minneapolis police. Instead, the man, Eddie Sole Jr., 38, shot himself when confronted by police investigating reports that he had earlier killed Eddie George Gordon, 61, in a nearby parking ramp. Williams has described Gordon as a “mentor and stepfather figure.”
While on pretrial release and staying in a halfway house, Williams went to the Target store in downtown Minneapolis to try to intimidate and threaten a Target employee involved in the case. He was ordered detained after multiple rule violations at the halfway house.
In January 2021, Williams pled guilty to conspiracy to commit arson and was granted a furlough motion to participate in the Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge’s mental health and substance disorder treatment program.
But he left the program – and the state – in September 2021. He has since said he fled to visit a dying relative in Indiana, but was arrested and returned to Minnesota in July 2022. Back in the state, Williams asked to vacate his guilty plea, was then charged in a superseding indictment with arson and convicted after a three-day trial in October 2023.
Earlier Wednesday, Magnuson refused Williams’ arguments to adjust a pre-sentence investigation report that would’ve lowered his sentencing guidelines in the case. Chiefly, Williams asked that the Target headquarters not be considered a public space.
“To say this isn’t a public place is an absolute misnomer: 4,000 people work in that place and if you had been successful in your arson … 4,000 people would’ve been out of work,” Magnuson said. “And if Target Corp. did need to rebuild that building, it probably wouldn’t have been done yet. This is a very, very serious crime and I will not make light of it.”
Glenn Bruder, Williams’ attorney, had requested a 5-year sentence. Two other men, Shador Tommie Cortez Jackson and Victor Devon Edwards, pleaded guilty in 2021 to charges related to starting a fire in the Target headquarters mail room, causing at least $1 million in damages. Edwards was sentenced to more than 8 years in federal prison and Jackson received nearly 3 years.
Williams was captured on surveillance video lighting a cardboard box on fire and placing it inside the Target Headquarters building through a shattered glass door. He made several attempts to reignite the box as the flames petered out and also tried to start a fire inside the building’s vestibule.
Bruder urged Magnuson to give his client “his first opportunity to turn his life around,” pointing to a harrowing upbringing in which Williams first witnessed his own mother’s substance disorder and physical abuse by a partner before eventually turning to drugs and alcohol himself.
Williams choked up as he addressed Magnuson midway through the hearing, noting his two children in attendance.
“What makes me cry is they shouldn’t be seeing this,” he said. “I should not be standing in front of you right now, but because of my bad decision making here I am fighting for my life and my freedom.”
Williams apologized for his role in “adding to the problem instead of helping find a solution” at a time in which the Twin Cities were vulnerable to unrest just months after George Floyd’s killing.
But as Magnuson explained his rationale for granting the government’s request for a 10-year sentence, Williams shook his head and grew agitated. The judge recognized Williams’ intellect, while saying that he could tell that he needed serious chemical dependency and mental health treatment.
“How do I get 10 years for attempted arson?” Williams interrupted. “It makes no sense, sir! It’s unconstitutional.”
“You are demonstrating right now why I am saying what I am about mental health,” Magnuson said, before abruptly ending the hearing.
An off-duty Washington County sheriff’s deputy caused a head-on crash while under the influence of alcohol and injured a couple in the other vehicle, officials said.
The crash occurred about 10:40 a.m. Sunday in Afton on Hwy. 95 at Scenic Lane, the Minnesota State Patrol said.
Campbell Johnston Blair, 58, of Hastings, was heading north in his Subaru Crosstrek, crossed into the opposite lane and collided with a southbound Ford Expedition, the patrol said.
Blair and the other vehicle’s occupants, 38-year-old Erik Robert Sward and 36-year-old Heather Lynn Sward, both of Lake Elmo, were taken to Regions Hospital with non-critical injuries, according to the patrol.
The patrol noted the alcohol use by Blair was involved in the crash.
Blair, who was driving a private vehicle at the time of the crash while off-duty, has been a deputy with the Sheriff’s Office since 2020 and is currently assigned to our Court Security Unit.
The Sheriff’s Office has been asked for reaction to the crash involving one of its deputies.
ST. CLOUD – On Tuesday, St. Cloud voters will be asked to make decisions on a new fire station and moving city elections to odd years, and — for those who live in Stearns County — how to fund a new county jail.
Here’s a look at the three referendum questions that are on St. Cloud-area ballots this year.
Ballot question: “Shall Stearns County be authorized to impose a sales tax & use tax of three-eighths of one percent to finance up to $325 million, plus associated bonding costs, for the construction of a justice center facility, consisting of law enforcement, judicial center and jail? The sales tax would be used solely to finance construction, upgrades and financing costs for the justice center and remain in effect for 30 years or until the project is paid for, whichever comes first. These services and facilities are mandated by the state of Minnesota to be provided by counties.”
Stearns County officials are planning to build a new $325 million justice center complex that includes a 270-bed jail, a judicial center with courtrooms, and a law enforcement center that houses the Sheriff’s Office. In the summer, Stearns County board members voted to move those facilities out of downtown and to a new location with more space. That site has yet to be determined.
The question before voters is how to fund that center.
County Administrator Mike Williams said a common misconception he’s heard at recent town halls is residents think voting “yes” gives permission to the county to build the facility, and if they vote “no,” the county won’t spend the money to build it.
“People [think they] are voting on the project — and they’re not. They’re voting on how we are going to fund it,” Williams said.
If voters approve the ballot question, the county will impose a sales tax to fund the project. If they vote it down, the county can instead pay for the project with property taxes.
That children like Charlotte — their very existence — are up for debate is a painful affront to couples who fought desperately to become parents.
“Our daughter doesn’t exist in a world without science,” Snyder said. “Through our film, you get to see our journey together, husband and wife, in the operating room. Seeing the [embryo] transfers, the highs and the lows, the loss we experienced to then find our greatest joy. That doesn’t happen without access to IVF.”
Jay Snyder holds baby Charlotte, who points to her mom, Paralympic swimming champion Mallory Weggemann. (Provided)
Several weeks ago, I shared with you the story of other men who became fathers only through the help of assisted reproduction. No matter what you think of Gov. Tim Walz’s politics, know this: His outspokenness around his and his wife’s infertility journey has helped other men yearning to be dads feel less alone.
We have a lot of work to do to reduce the stigma and shame of male-factor infertility in particular. When people heard that Weggemann and Snyder couldn’t have a baby, many assumed the condition stemmed from Weggemann. That could be because of longstanding notions about disability and motherhood. Weggemann was paralyzed from the waist down at the age of 18 after a botched epidural to treat back pain.
”There’s a lot of unconscious bias that the disability community is not sexually active,” Weggemann said. “Therefore, how could we have children?”
Another misconception, of course, is that infertility is simply a woman’s problem. That’s despite the fact that men and women contribute about equally toward the condition.