Rochester Shooting Suspect Awaits Sentencing After Guilty Plea

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) -There has been a plea agreement for a shooting in Rochester two years ago that left a man with a gunshot wound to his leg.

22-year-old Demonte Simmons was charged with first-degree aggravated robbery, second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, and a gross misdemeanor charge of carrying a pistol without a permit several months after the shooting occurred in May 2022. He was arrested in July 2022 after Rochester police spotted several people running away from a residence as they were preparing to execute several search warrants connected to the shooting investigation.

According to the criminal complaint, one of the men who fled from the home was identified as Simmons. It also says he was observed discarding a distinctive looking handgun. The court document says the victim later recognized it as the weapon he was threatened with during an attempted robbery that led to the shooting.

The charges alleged that Simmons lured the victim to the 400 block of 11th Street Southeast by arranging to meet and purchase marijuana from him. When the victim arrived at the location, he told police that two men approached his pickup and tried to rob him.

READ MORE: Charges Reveal More Info on Early May Rochester Shooting

He stated that one of the men, later identified as Simmons, pulled out a 9 mm handgun and opened fire as the victim started driving away. The charges say investigators later found several obvious bullet holes on the victim's vehicle and six spent shell casings at the crime scene.

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The court document says one of the bullets struck the victim in the leg. When officers arrived at the scene, they found him sitting in the driver's seat moaning in pain with his legs out of the vehicle. The officers also observed a large pool of blood on the floorboard of the pickup truck.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Simmons admitted to the second-degree assault charge. In exchange the aggravated robbery charge and the weapons citation were dismissed.

He is scheduled to be sentenced in July. The plea deal does not include a recommended sentence but it indicates Simmons will be able to make a plea to the court for leniency.