An 18-year-old Ellendale man has been charged with aggravated robbery after a passenger in his car was allegedly beaten and robbed of roughly $300 at Brown Park in Owatonna on Oct. 19. Lavon Latrell Jewison was identified as the driver and registered owner of the vehicle where the attack took place, according to the criminal complaint.
According to southernminn.com, the alleged victim told police he was riding in the rear passenger seat while Jewison drove, and that he was hit and kicked by the vehicle’s occupants while still inside the car. The complaint, filed Nov. 2 per MN Crime, states that Owatonna police were initially called to Brown Park over a report of five or six children fighting.
Witness Describes Chaotic Scene at the Park
A witness who was out walking a dog told police he saw four or five children jumping in and out of a black car and yelling at someone inside the vehicle to get out, the southernminn.com report notes. Per MN Crime, the group had picked up the alleged victim about 45 minutes before arriving at the park and had driven him around before heading there to play basketball.
The witness said he intervened after seeing the group try to drag the passenger from the car, according to MN Crime. The outlet reports that the group then chased the victim near the park’s parking lot entrance, where one member tackled him to the ground. A group member pulled a wrench from the back of the car, and the witness told him to put it away.
Victim Found Crying, With Visible Injuries
An officer later found the victim about one block away, crying and upset, MN Crime reports. He told the officer the group had jumped him and robbed him. The article states that an officer observed blood on the victim’s sweatshirt and pants, a hole in his left sleeve, a roughly 2-inch scratch under his right eye, a raised bump above that eye, and busted, bleeding lips. The victim said he had no injuries before the attack, according to the same account.
The victim told police he had about $300 in cash in his front left pocket, which was taken during the altercation, but he was unsure who took it, the southernminn.com report says. MN Crime adds that the group reportedly knew he was carrying cash because they planned to go to a party later. The alleged victim identified Jewison as the driver of the vehicle and said he himself had been riding in the back seat.
Charge Carries Felony Weight Under State Law
Jewison was charged with aiding and abetting first-degree aggravated robbery, a felony, and has been summoned to appear in Steele County District Court, according to MN Crime. Under Minnesota state law, a person commits first-degree aggravated robbery while committing a robbery if armed with a dangerous weapon, armed with an article fashioned to lead the victim to reasonably believe it is a dangerous weapon, or if the person inflicts bodily harm.
No information on Jewison’s plea, a scheduled court appearance, or the case’s further proceedings was available in the reporting reviewed.
