Arrest Warrant – Man Shot At While Fleeing Rochester Park

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - An arrest warrant has been issued for an Iowa man in connection with a shooting reported at a Rochester park last week.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Olmsted County Court, Rochester Police officers were dispatched to a gas station in southeast Rochester just after midnight on June 7. The court document says the officers spoke with a man who reported that he and a woman had been hiking at Quarry Hill Park the previous evening and were confronted by a man when they returned to the parking lot.

Get our free mobile app

The victim stated that the man, described as an adult Black male, began yelling at him to get in his car and leave before pulling out a black pistol and striking him in the face. The complaint says the victim described how he was able to get into his vehicle, and as he was starting to drive away, the man struck the driver’s side window with the pistol. The victim then heard one or two gunshots as he was exiting the parking lot.

The man told officers that he later realized his cell phone was missing from his car and drove to the Government Center and then to a nearby gas station to call 911. According to the complaint, one of the responding officers noted that the victim had a laceration on his face, and there was blood on his face, neck, and clothing.

The court document indicates investigators then spoke with the woman who had been with the victim. She told officers that her ex-boyfriend, identified as 18-year-old Lamarion Knox Joseph, assaulted the victim. She stated the victim then ran to his car, and Joseph fired a single shot at the vehicle as he drove away. The complaint says the woman also told investigators that Joseph admitted to taking the victim’s cell phone and smashing it.

At the scene, an officer located a single shell casing and also observed a trail of blood nearby. The complaint also notes that surveillance camera footage from the parking lot at Quarry Hill Park recorded parts of the incident.

According to the criminal complaint, investigators were unable to locate Joseph but were able to track his cell phone, which pinged in Iowa. His ex-girlfriend told police he has family in Iowa and Illinois.

The arrest warrant charges Joseph with second-degree assault, felony reckless discharge of a firearm within a municipality, and gross misdemeanor theft.