Bail Set at $75K in Rochester Home Invasion Case

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - Bail has been set at $75,000 for the Rochester man accused of barging into a home and robbing a man at knifepoint.

The criminal complaint filed against 23-year-old Abdulahi Abukar charges him with one count each of first-degree aggravated robbery, first-degree burglary, second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, and a felony count of fleeing police.

According to court documents, Abukar forced his way into an apartment in southeast Rochester Tuesday afternoon and demanded money while pointing a knife at the victim's throat. The victim told Rochester police he feared what would happen to him if he did not comply and gave Abukar about $100.

The victim and witnesses told police that Abukar then left in the car and provided the responding officers with the license plate number of the vehicle. The complaint says an officer was in the area at the time and spotted Abukar's vehicle speeding through a red light and crashing into another vehicle.

The officer reported activating her emergency lights and pursuing Abukar, who continued to drive with the airbags deployed in his vehicle. After he refused to stop, the pursuit was terminated.

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The charges say police later located Abukar's vehicle parked at a residence in southwest Rochester, where the owner told officers that Abukar had just shown up at her house and was still inside. After he was taken into custody, police took Abukar to St. Mary's Hospital at his request before he was brought to the Olmsted County jail for processing.

The complaint says he told the officer transporting him that he had been smoking fentanyl earlier in the day. It says he also claimed he had been driving recklessly to test out his car when he was involved in a traffic crash. He also stated that he was not aware of the police officers following him in squad cars with emergency lights activated.

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