A 20-year-old man with a documented history of violent property crime and a 19-year-old Crystal man are facing felony charges after two separate armed robberies rattled Stearns County this summer, one in Waite Park and one in St. Cloud. Ethan Weckman and Anthony Johnson were booked into the Stearns County Jail on August 25 following their arrest in the northern Twin Cities suburb of Brooklyn Park, where officers recovered two 9mm handguns, extended magazines, ammunition and suspected ecstasy from the pair's vehicle.
According to WJON, the St. Cloud robbery happened on August 23, when two men approached a victim who was taking photos in the area, pointed a gun at him, and stole his backpack, which contained a wallet, iPad, camera and cell phone. Weckman is accused of pulling the victim's shirt over his head while Johnson allegedly jumped him; surveillance footage reportedly showed the two entering a nearby store before the assault and later running toward a car. Both men were charged with aiding and abetting first-degree aggravated robbery, according to the station's report.
A Second Robbery Weeks Earlier in Waite Park
The earlier incident took place on July 20, when Waite Park police responded around 3:15 a.m. to an apartment in the 400 block of 7th Street South. Per the same account, the victim had invited Johnson, Weckman and two women into his apartment before the men allegedly hit and kicked him and made off with his watch and a replica handgun. St. Cloud police separately responded to a robbery complaint in the 1700 block of 7th Street South tied to the same case, where the victim reported his watch missing.
Investigators say officers searching the suspects' vehicle in Brooklyn Park found two 9mm handguns, two extended magazines, ammunition and a baggie containing suspected ecstasy, in addition to a backpack Weckman was allegedly carrying. Because both men have prior juvenile violent-crime records, they now face additional charges of possessing a firearm after being convicted of a crime of violence as juveniles, along with two more counts each of aiding and abetting first-degree aggravated robbery involving a gun, the article notes.
Weckman's History of Prior Charges
Weckman's record extends beyond these two Stearns County cases. He was sentenced in July 2025 in Wright County District Court to five years' probation after pleading guilty to second-degree burglary for driving accomplices during a violent home invasion in Clearwater, according to KNSI, which reported he served 72 days in jail before receiving probation. Then in March 2026, Weckman was formally charged via summons in Sherburne County District Court with felony theft for allegedly stealing a safe containing $9,500 in jewelry from a Big Lake residence, as detailed in a Sherburne County court filing shared on a local crime-watch Facebook page.
Johnson's hometown of Crystal sits roughly 65 miles southeast of St. Cloud, part of a broader pattern of Twin Cities metro residents traveling into Stearns County to allegedly commit crimes, connected by the Interstate 94 corridor. The case now spans police departments in St. Cloud, Waite Park and Brooklyn Park, along with courts in Stearns, Wright and Sherburne counties. The St. Cloud Police Department, which led the August 23 investigation, fields 122 full-time sworn officers covering a metro area spanning Stearns, Benton and Sherburne counties.
What the Charges Could Mean in Court
Under Minnesota Statute § 609.245, first-degree aggravated robbery is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $35,000 fine, applying when a perpetrator uses a dangerous weapon or inflicts bodily harm, per the Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Separately, Minnesota Statute § 624.713 makes it a felony, carrying up to 15 years and a $30,000 fine, for someone with a juvenile violent-crime adjudication to possess a firearm or ammunition.
If prosecutors prove firearm involvement, Minnesota Statute § 609.11 imposes a mandatory minimum of three years of executed prison time for a first offense during an aggravated robbery, with no eligibility for probation or early release. First-degree aggravated robbery is also classified as a severe violent offense under state sentencing guidelines, which under Minn. Stat. § 299C.105 requires anyone convicted, or adjudicated as a juvenile, to submit a biological DNA sample to state law enforcement databases.
It remains an open question whether additional charges will be filed over the suspected ecstasy recovered from the vehicle in Brooklyn Park. Court proceedings in Stearns County are expected to continue as prosecutors pursue the robbery and firearm counts against both men.
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