Third Man Pleads Guilty in Rochester Armed Robbery

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - All three men charged in connection with an armed robbery at a Rochester business nearly two years ago have pleaded guilty.

Twenty-eight-year-old Ahmed Abdulqadir Ali today entered a guilty plea to a first-degree aggravated robbery charge for his involvement in the crime. He is scheduled to be sentenced in May.

Cell Phone Store Held Up

According to Olmsted County Court records, Ali and 23-year-old Bilal Ali Hilowle were arrested shortly after the Rochester Police Department responded to the AT&T cell phone store near the Hy-Vee Crossroads location in May 2024. Both men were accused of barging into the business while employees were closing the store for the day.

The criminal complaint says Rochester police were dispatched to the store after a regional manager reported that a break-in was occurring and was visible on the store’s surveillance cameras. The store manager told responding officers he had been robbed by two Black males dressed in all black who had already fled the business.

Inside Job

Responding officers also spotted an employee in an office with a large laceration on one of his legs. The investigation into the robbery later led to allegations that the employee was involved in the crime.

The store manager described hearing someone entering numbers on the keypad at the rear door of the building. He then saw the two suspects approaching him, and one of them was holding a knife. The criminal complaint says the store manager told officers he was ordered into the bathroom, told to get on his knees, and instructed to hand over his phone.

Ordered to Open Safe

The court document says the robber with the knife then held the blade in front of the manager’s mouth and ordered him to be quiet. The manager was then ordered to open the safe. He complied but informed the robbers it had a security feature requiring a 10-minute waiting period before it would open.

The manager stated he was able to lock himself in the safe room after the robbers began rummaging through a box of used and returned cell phones. He told police the other employee was left alone with the robbers in the hallway and later entered the safe room, stating he had been stabbed in the leg during a struggle.

Robbers Apprehended Nearby

Both suspects were later captured by Rochester police after officers spotted them in the nearby parking lot of the Crossroads Shopping Center. The criminal complaint says Ali was found hiding near trees, while Hilowle was apprehended outside Andy's Liquor.

Investigators found a fixed-blade knife that appeared to have blood on it outside the AT&T store, where a number of cell phones and a smartwatch were also recovered. Two bags containing cell phones were found in a trash container at a nearby laundromat.

Hilowle previously entered a guilty plea to the same charge and is now serving a 50-month prison sentence.

READ MORE: Plea Deal Finalized in Violent Rochester AT&T Store Robbery Case

Another Crime Uncovered

Following the robbery, investigators uncovered evidence implicating the employee who had been stabbed in the leg in the theft of cell phones during the week leading up to the armed robbery. Twenty-four-year-old Mohamed Aden Hassan was also accused of working with Ali and Hilowle by giving them access to the business through the rear door.

Plea Agreements

He was charged with first-degree aggravated robbery, while he and Ali were also charged with aiding and abetting theft and aiding and abetting receiving stolen property for the prior cell phone thefts. The theft charges against Ali were dropped through his plea agreement.

Hassan earlier entered a guilty plea to the first-degree aggravated robbery charge in a plea agreement that led to the dismissal of the other charges. He is scheduled to be sentenced in April.

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