Court document: 17-year-old charged in violent downtown robbery says he was called racial slur before assault

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office filed a petition Monday to certify a 17-year-old allegedly involved in a violent robbery near Target Field in August as an adult.

According to the petition, the teen told police the victim of the violent robbery called him a racial slur which caused him to “become angry and black out,” before the attack.

The 17-year-old was already charged with felony first-degree aggravated robbery and gross misdemeanor third-degree riot in juvenile court. The petition would allow the county attorney to charge him as an adult.

The Aug. 3 robbery was caught on surveillance footage outside Target Field. It showed the victim surrounded by a group of people who punched him, threw him to the ground, threw planters on him, jumped on him, ripped off his pants and shoes and then went through his pockets. Later in the video, an individual drove over the victim on a bicycle.

The victim told police the perpetrators took his phone and broke one of his teeth. He also reported bruising to his head, chest, arms and legs, ringing in his ears, difficulty walking and double vision as a result of the incident.

A total of 18 people were charged in a series of violent robberies caught on camera, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. The people range in age from 15 to 27 years old and all face various counts of robbery. Four of the suspects in the robberies were 15 years old.

A 25-year-old Brooklyn Center man was the only one charged in both robberies.

The rest of the robbers, both adults and juveniles, were charged with some combination of attempted first-degree robbery, first-degree robbery, aiding and abetting first-degree robbery and third-degree riot.

In addition to the Target Field incident, another robbery occurred Aug. 17 near 5th Street and Hennepin Avenue. The victim was outside of a downtown bar, holding his phone, when a group of people surrounded him and tried to take his wallet.

The robbers kicked and punched him until he was unconscious. Bystanders came to his aide, but the robbers still took his phone, wallet, keys and $100 in cash. One of the assailants took out $220 from his debit card at an ATM, too.