Charges: Armed Felon Caught After Fleeing Police in Rochester Neighborhood, Crashing Into Tree

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- Rochester Police arrested a convicted felon who is accused of being armed when he fled a traffic stop last week. 

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The criminal complaint, filed in Olmsted County Court on Monday, says a Rochester Police Officer was following a vehicle seen driving on North Broadway and West Silver Lake Dr. Northeast on Dec. 14. The officer suspected the vehicle’s driver had a revoked license and initiated a traffic stop in the area of 9th Ave. Northwest. 

The driver identified himself through his ID card as 21-year-old Robert Alvin Cleaves of Rochester. Cleaves opened the vehicle’s glove box to retrieve insurance information and the officer spotted what appeared to be a 9mm bullet inside, the complaint says. 

The officer instructed Cleaves and a front seat passenger to place their hands on the dashboard. A short time later, Cleaves took off south on 9th Ave. Northwest, the charges say. 

The officer followed the path of the vehicle and found it abandoned after it had crashed into a tree along 9th Ave. Northwest. Police searched the empty vehicle and found a Glock 19 with a 30-round magazine and two more 9mm bullets, according to the complaint. 

The pistol was equipped with an "auto sear" or "switch" attached, which modifies a semi-auto pistol into an automatic firearm that’s capable of firing 15 rounds per second, the charges say. 

Officers found and arrested Cleaves the next day in northwest Rochester. Police also executed a search warrant at Cleaves’s residence and found more ammunition and a gun storage box, according to the complaint. 

Cleaves was arraigned Monday on felony charges of prohibited possession of a firearm, possession of a machine gun conversion kit and fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle. 

Court records indicate Cleaves has a history of felony convictions for violent crimes that dates back to 2020. Those convictions include domestic assault and second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. 

Cleaves’s conditional bail was set at $50,000 and he’s due back in court next month.

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