Three Saint Paul men are facing aiding and abetting charges after prosecutors say they beat and robbed a man outside a gas station on August 20, taking just seven one-dollar bills before fleeing the scene on rented electric scooters. Charging documents reveal the victim was unhoused and had emerged from a nearby business, where he had been hiding after the assault, when police arrived to investigate.
According to MN Crime, 20-year-old Chaz Edward Williams, Darious Hampton Knight, and 21-year-old Charles Satash Fillmore were all charged with aiding and abetting first-degree aggravated robbery following the attack. Multiple 911 callers reported that three men had assaulted another man outside the gas station, and a witness told investigators the men went through the victim's pockets and took his money before riding off on scooters. That same witness said the trio had circled the block on the scooters before returning to assault the victim a second time.
Surveillance video reviewed by investigators reportedly showed the three men approaching the victim, with Williams throwing a punch and Fillmore and Knight repeatedly punching and kicking him as he lay on the ground. A witness also told police the men were seen stomping the victim during the attack. The victim later reported that the group punched and kicked him following a brief conversation, and he told police he did not know any of the three men.
Injuries and the Search for Missing Cash
The victim sustained a bleeding nose, a bleeding elbow, and facial and lip swelling, per the charges detailed by MN Crime. Police said seven one-dollar bills were missing from the victim's pocket, and officers later found seven one-dollar bills in Knight's sweatshirt pocket when they located the three men on scooters matching the suspects' descriptions. Police also said they observed blood on Knight's shoes.
During questioning, Knight admitted to repeatedly kicking the victim but denied taking any money, telling police that Williams put the cash in his pocket after the assault. Williams, for his part, said Knight took the money from the victim as the group left. Williams also claimed the victim swung at him first and that he responded with a single punch, and he told police, “we beat him up.” Knight separately claimed he could not have punched the victim because of a broken arm, and told investigators he and Williams are brothers.
Both Williams and Knight told police they believed the victim had made inappropriate comments or advances toward women or a young girl they knew, according to the charging documents. Fillmore, the third man charged, admitted during questioning to throwing at least one punch during the attack. Williams was scheduled to appear in Ramsey County court on August 24.
What the Charges Carry
First-degree aggravated robbery, the most serious charge filed in the case, is defined under Minnesota Statute 609.245 and carries a statutory maximum of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $35,000, according to Justia Law. The charge requires proving a suspect inflicted bodily harm or was armed with a dangerous weapon or replica during a robbery. Lesser Minnesota robbery statutes carry lighter maximums by comparison — second-degree aggravated robbery carries up to 15 years, while simple robbery, defined under Minnesota Statute 609.24, carries up to 10 years.
All three men were charged under Minnesota's aiding and abetting statute, Minnesota Statute 609.05, subdivision 1, which holds a person criminally liable for a crime committed by another if they intentionally aid, advise, hire, counsel, or conspire with the person who commits it. Under that statute, accomplices face the same maximum penalties as the principal perpetrator, which is why prosecutors were able to charge all three men with the same aggravated robbery offense despite differing accounts of who threw punches, who kicked the victim, and who ultimately pocketed the cash.
Scooters, Sidewalks, and an Unsheltered Victim
The men reportedly fled the scene on ride-share scooters, vehicles supplied in Saint Paul through vendors like Lime and Spin under city rules that require the devices to stay on streets, bike lanes, or designated bike paths rather than sidewalks, except briefly when entering or exiting a parking spot, according to the City of Saint Paul. That the men allegedly used the scooters to circle back for a second assault, per the witness account, underscores how ordinary infrastructure became part of the crime's mechanics.
The revelation that the victim was unhoused and had hidden in a nearby business after the beating lands amid broader concern in Saint Paul about violence against unsheltered residents. Community advocates have said unsheltered residents face a disproportionately higher risk of violent crime victimization than the general population, according to the Community Reporter. A 2026 study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, reported by Prison Legal News, found that recently unhoused Minnesotans experience sharply elevated rates of mental health conditions, substance use disorders, and physical vulnerability compared to housed residents, with nearly 18% of recently unhoused adults in the statewide analysis suffering from psychotic disorders compared to 1.8% of the general population.
Saint Paul runs an Office of Neighborhood Safety that coordinates police, fire, emergency medical services, and dedicated homeless assistance response teams to support crime victims and unsheltered residents across the city. The Saint Paul Police Department also maintains an Open Information Portal, updated twice daily, that lets residents and journalists track reported robberies and aggravated assaults by police grid zone.
Gas station lots have repeatedly served as flashpoints for street crime in the Twin Cities. Hoodline previously reported on five gas station robberies across the metro that ended in a federal guilty plea, and on a separate incident in which an online feud spilled into gunfire at a Saint Paul gas station, wounding a bystander. Court records reviewed for this case do not specify the exact address of the gas station involved, and it remains unclear whether Williams, Knight, or Fillmore have posted bail or what happened at subsequent court appearances in Ramsey County District Court.
