24-Year-Old Rochester Woman Arrested for Connection to Fiesta Cafe Shooting Incident

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A young woman has become the third person arrested in connection with a shooting incident at a Rochester restaurant last month. 

Read More: Charges Filed in Rochester Restaurant Shooting Incident

24-year-old Esmeralda Lizeth Valdez Rios of Rochester is charged with felony second-degree riot with a dangerous weapon. 

The complaint indicates she was among a group of people who were involved in an altercation that preceded a shooting at the Fiesta Café.

Rochester Woman Faces Felony Charge for Fight That Preceded Shooting at Rochester Restaurant

Rochester police responded to the gunfire at the restaurant, located in the 1600 block of North Broadway Ave., on the morning of April 12. 

Responding officers found a spent 9 mm shell casing, a knife, and blood on the ground. 

Additional officers in the area reported seeing the vehicle aggressively fleeing by hopping curbs, running red lights, and driving recklessly. 

Two days after the shooting, police executed a series of search warrants and took a 16-year-old boy into custody on felony assault-related charges. 

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18-year-old Josue Ulises Martinez of Rochester was accused of firing the gunshot while driving away from the restaurant, court documents say.

He is now facing second-degree assault, felony terroristic threats, second-degree riot, and reckless discharge of a firearm. 

Ongoing Dispute Between Groups

Investigators learned Martinez and his associates had been engaged in an ongoing dispute with Rios and her associates. 

The criminal complaint says the two groups got into an altercation inside the restaurant, and witnesses told police that Martinez said "he had a firearm, and that when he saw them outside of the restaurant they were dead." 

Surveillance camera videos show the two groups in what was described as an animated argument, with multiple people holding Rios and Martinez apart so they could not physically assault each other, court documents say. 

Stabbing in Restaurant

The charges say that, when neither of them was being restrained, Rios attempted to hit Martinez with a closed fist, and an associate of Rios then produced a knife and stabbed a person associated with Martinez in the neck. 

See Also: Manslaughter and Murder Charge Filed in Fatal Rochester-Area Overdose 

Court documents say Rios and Martinez threw drinks at each other while the person who had been stabbed exited the area. 

Rios was released without bail following her first court appearance on Monday. She is due back in court next month.