Guilty Plea For Threats to Shoot Up Stewartville Business

Get our free mobile app

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Stewartville man accused of threatening to shoot up a business with an AR-15 today entered into a plea agreement in Olmsted County Court.

20-year-old Javarie Smith admitted to a felony terroristic threats charge in exchange for the dismissal of two counts of misdemeanor domestic assault.

Smith was arrested on June 16 after the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office responded to a 911 call requesting a welfare check on a woman at her place of employment. The deputies were told the woman's boyfriend had been calling her and making threats.

Her coworkers made recordings of the messages, during which Smith stated he was going to shoot the place up with an AR-15 if his girlfriend was not sent home. He also talked about shooting an AR-15 through the glass windows of the business. The coworkers told the deputies Smith started calling about 6 in the morning and made 8-10 calls to the business making similar and other threats.

According to the criminal complaint, a deputy spoke with the victim and noted she had a large bump and bruises on her face. She told the deputy that Smith was her boyfriend and he had beaten her up earlier that morning by punching her in the left eye and the side of her head after they had gotten into an argument at her apartment. The victim also reported that Smith then threatened to kill her while following her to work.

The court documents say the deputies later located Smith at the woman's apartment, where he was arrested without incident. The police reports on the incident stated that, while he was being transported to jail, Smith allegedly threatened to take a deputy’s rifle and described himself as an Olmsted County Sheriff's Deputy killer.

He is scheduled to be sentenced in early February. His felony conviction carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.