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.
When the Minnesota Supreme Court this week declined to hear an appeal by the University of St. Thomas regarding the environmental impact of its new hockey/basketball arena under construction, neighbor and arena foe Dan Kennedy said the “ethical” thing for the university to do was stop construction until neighbor concerns are addressed.
Not going to happen, university officials said Thursday.
While a public review of a revised Environmental Assessment Worksheet continues through Nov. 7, construction of the 5,000-seat Lee and Penny Anderson Arena continues. In an e-mail Thursday, a university spokesman said the arena is expected to be completed in fall 2025.
“The University of St. Thomas is aware of the Minnesota Supreme Court’s decision to deny its petition to appeal and is reviewing the potential impacts of this decision,” an emailed statement from St. Thomas said. “Last week, the City of St. Paul published an updated EAW for public comment, and that process will continue. Construction of the Lee & Penny Anderson Arena will also continue, as permitted by law.”
But Kennedy said he believes that decision is not only wrong, but illegal. Because the state Court of Appeals this summer ruled the project’s first environmental review was inadequate, its site plans and building permits are invalid, said the president of Advocates for Responsible Development.
“We need somebody to specifically tell the University of St. Thomas that they must comply with the law,” Kennedy said. “This is an institution of higher learning, with a law school. They should comply with the law.”
Kennedy said he thought the Minnesota Court of Appeals had insisted on exactly that. In August, the appellate court ordered the city and university to conduct a new Environmental Assessment Worksheet. The previous assessment didn’t do enough to study the arena’s potential harm to the neighborhood’s parking, traffic and air quality, the court ruled.
“The reason why is that more sunlight in the morning time helps reinforce waking up, and having less light in the evening is less stimulation,” he said. “So when we’re winding down, preparing for sleep, having fewer hours of sunlight in the evening can help promote that process of falling asleep.”
Akingbola acknowledges that it can be sad to walk out of work or school when it’s already dark out, but in the long run, standard time is the way to go.
The U.S. already tried daylight savings year round in 1974
Despite the medical advice, there have been calls in recent years to make daylight savings time permanent.
Sen. Mary Kiffmeyer, R-Big Lake, tried to pass a bill as recently as 2021 to make daylight savings time permanent, but it did not pass the Legislature.
The U.S. tried once before. According to Minnesota Star Tribune archives, due to an energy crisis, President Richard Nixon passed a law in January 1974 that made daylight savings a year-round thing.
A month into it, the Minneapolis Tribune ran an article saying there were calls to reverse the decision because there were more accidents in the pre-dawn darkness, particularly involving school children waiting for the bus. Under daylight savings time in January, sunrise wasn’t until well after 8 a.m. in Minnesota.
Karl-Anthony Towns may be in New York City, but his heart is in Minnesota.
On Wednesday night, Towns had some sweet seats for a Billie Eilish show at Madison Square Garden with his partner, Jordyn Woods, when she caught him watching the Timberwolves play the Chicago Bulls in a preseason game on his phone. Her video, posted to her Instagram story, made rounds on social media Thursday.
In the video, flames are literally spewing out from Eilish’s stage, lights are flashing all around and others in the crowd are head bobbing. And there is Towns, holding his phone in both hands and muttering to himself as the Timberwolves are down 88-75 late in the third quarter in a meaningless game.
“I promise he was enjoying the concert,” Woods wrote in the video’s caption.
The Wolves would go on to lose that game, 125-123. A nail-biter.
Towns’ trade to the New York Knicks for Julius Randle and others stunned the NBA world and all of Minnesota, where he was a beloved player for nine seasons and a leader on a team rapidly ascending toward championship contention.
“It was a lot of emotions,” Towns said. “Some amazing moments and times in nine years of my life in Minnesota, a place that I’ve called home. Guys who are not just teammates to me but brothers. We were like brothers. It definitely was a wild day, definitely coming to work.”
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