A woman came home from work early Saturday, September 5, and climbed the stairs of her St. Paul house to feed her cats when she found a strange man already inside. What followed was a brutal, prolonged assault that ended with her fighting back with a baseball bat — and it has now led prosecutors to charge a 31-year-old Robbinsdale man they say may also be tied to a second sexual assault weeks earlier.
Antonio Lareco Jones was charged this week in Ramsey County District Court with first-degree criminal sexual conduct, according to prosecutors cited by the Minnesota Star Tribune. The charge accuses him of breaking into the woman's home in the 1600 block of Selby Avenue, beating her and raping her as she fought back, per the criminal complaint. Ramsey County prosecutors formally filed the felony charge on September 8, according to court records indexed by MN Crime.
According to the Star Tribune's account of the criminal complaint, the attack unfolded around 1:45 a.m. The woman told investigators she had not locked her front door, and once inside, the intruder allegedly told her he had been watching her through her window before entering and claimed he was looking for a party. He then punched her 20 to 30 times in the face and knocked her to the floor, the complaint states.
Woman Fought Back With a Baseball Bat
The woman tried to hit the intruder with a baseball bat, but he grabbed it out of her hand and struck her face again before raping her as she continued to fight back, according to the complaint reported by the Star Tribune. She suffered cuts and swelling on both sides of her face, the complaint says. The assailant fled with her key fob and cellphone about five minutes before officers arrived, according to the victim's account.
Police officers responded to the reported burglary at the Selby Avenue residence. A police dog later found the woman's key fob and cellphone behind a nearby garage. She went on to identify her attacker during a police photo lineup.
Casino Arrest Two Days Later
Jones was arrested Monday, September 7, while he was reportedly being kicked out of Mystic Lake Casino in Prior Lake. The casino is operated by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, according to Scott County Watch. Jones declined to speak with investigators after his arrest and remains jailed in lieu of $250,000 bail.
He appeared in court Wednesday and has another hearing scheduled for October 14. Beyond the Selby Avenue case, police said Jones's physical description and method point to him being a suspect in a separate sexual assault that occurred outdoors near Hamline Avenue at about 9 p.m. on August 28. That attack remains under active investigation, and the available account describes the earlier incident separately from the Selby Avenue case. For now, Jones's legal exposure is tied to the Selby Avenue charge as his case moves toward the October hearing.
A Second Arrest the Same Day as the Hamline Avenue Attack
Notably, booking records reviewed on Facebook show that an individual named Antonio Lareco Jones was booked in Hennepin County on August 28 — the same date as the Hamline Avenue assault — on a charge of fleeing a peace officer by means other than a motor vehicle. The dossier does not indicate whether that booking has been formally linked to the Hamline Avenue investigation.
Jones has a long and varied criminal background, according to the Star Tribune, including convictions for first-degree robbery and third-degree burglary, along with at least four misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor convictions for assault and domestic assault. The cited Justia Law record does not provide details about the circumstances or appellate history of that conviction.
What Jones Faces If Convicted
First-degree criminal sexual conduct is Minnesota's most severe sex offense category, requiring non-consensual sexual penetration accompanied by force, a dangerous weapon, or personal injury. Under Minnesota Statute § 609.342, a conviction carries a maximum penalty of up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $40,000, according to Brandt Kettwick Defense.
State sentencing rules also require anyone convicted of the offense to register on Minnesota's predatory offender registry and to serve a mandatory period of conditional release after prison, per Lundgren & Johnson. That registration imposes long-term residential and employment reporting requirements enforced by law enforcement.
The cited sources do not describe Saint Paul Police Department orders or the Major Crimes Division's responsibilities in sexual-violence investigations. St. Paul has experienced violent crime in recent years.
Whether prosecutors will file additional charges tied to the August 28 Hamline Avenue attack remains an open question, pending forensic work and lineup procedures, according to MN Crime's review of the case. For now, Jones's legal exposure is tied to the Selby Avenue charge as his case moves toward the October hearing.
