Conviction For Random Shooting in Small SE Minnesota Town

Rollingstone, MN (KROC-AM News) - One of the men charged in a shooting last spring that shattered the quiet of a small Winona County community has been convicted.

Twenty-two-year-old Kimari Jatovion Jordan today entered an Alford plea to a drive-by shooting charge. The plea means he does not admit guilt but acknowledges there is enough evidence to convict him of the crime.

Family Watching TV When Bullets Hit Their Home

Jordan and 30-year-old Damien Lamont Smith Jr., both of Winona, were arrested after the Winona County Sheriff's Office was dispatched to Rollingstone on the night of May 24, 2025, to investigate a report of a drive-by shooting. According to court documents, responding deputies spoke with a man who said he was inside his home with his wife and two children watching TV when he heard three gunshots.

The criminal complaint against Jordan says one of the bullets entered the living room of the home. Deputies then located three spent shell casings on the road in front of the house and found two bullet holes in the home's exterior.

Neighboring House Also Hit

The investigation led to an examination of a neighboring home, where deputies found two more bullet holes. No one was inside that residence when the shooting took place.

Bullet Holes Found in Third Home

According to the criminal complaint, the investigation also uncovered bullet holes in a home located a few blocks away. A spent shell casing was found on the adjacent road, and the two occupants of the house told deputies they noticed a vehicle driving slowly past and then heard two loud bangs. A bullet hole was also later found in the family’s attached garage.

Random Shootings

The charges against Jordan and Smith state that it appeared the homes hit by the bullets were selected at random.

Connected to Quinceanera Party

Further investigation led deputies to a Winona County woman who, according to the criminal complaint, told investigators that she, along with her boyfriend, her three daughters, and her oldest daughter's boyfriend, had attended a quinceañera party in Rollingstone the night of the shootings. Her vehicle matched the description of the one seen driving slowly past the third home that was hit by gunfire.

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Juvenile Witness

The court document says the woman initially denied any involvement in the shooting, but one of the juveniles later told investigators that the woman's boyfriend, Smith, had taken a gun from his backpack and fired it in the direction of the homes. The criminal complaint says the juvenile also reported that Jordan fired a gun out of the vehicle's window.

A search of Smith's home led to the recovery of a 9 mm handgun and ammunition that matched the shell casings found at the crime scenes.

Plea Agreement For Jordan

Both men were charged with drive-by shooting involving an occupied building. Court records indicate the Alford plea entered by Jordan today was to an amended charge of drive-by shooting involving an unoccupied building. He is scheduled to be sentenced in June.

Smith is currently scheduled to stand trial next month.

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