Plea Agreement Announced in 2021 Rochester Murder Case

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A plea deal has been worked out in a Rochester murder case.

25-year-old Nautica Cox and a South St. Paul man were arrested more than two years ago and were charged in connection with the shooting death of a Rochester man. 30-year-old Derek Days entered a guilty plea last year to a second-degree murder charge and a felony assault charge for shooting and killing 28-year-old Todd Banks Jr. and critically injuring a second man during a fight over a dice game in the early morning hours of June 6, 2021. Days was sentenced to 35 1/2 years in prison.

According to court records, Cox was involved in the same altercation and was spotted by a Rochester police officer firing a handgun in the direction of the group of people that had gathered outside a downtown Rochester bar and near the entrance to the city parking ramp at the corner of 1st Avenue and 3rd Southwest. The police reports on the fatal incident indicated the officer chased the Minneapolis man into a nearby alley, where he was apprehended.

Cox was charged with two counts of aiding and abetting second-degree murder, aiding and abetting attempted second-degree murder and illegal possession of a firearm by a felon convicted of a crime of violence.  Cox today entered guilty pleas to one count of aiding and abetting second-degree murder, a charge of aiding and abetting second-degree assault, and the weapons charge.

The plea agreement calls for a prison sentence of just over 18 years. Cox is scheduled to be sentenced next month.

He remains in the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center with his bail set at $2 million.

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