Gun Threat at Rochester Taco Bell Leads to Jail Sentence

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - An Austin man has been sentenced for pointing a gun at a group of girls in Rochester last summer.

According to court documents, 20-year-old Trayveon Tom Heuangsayaseng Jr. was arrested in the early morning hours of July 30, 2024, following an incident at the Taco Bell restaurant along North Broadway. Rochester police responded to reports of a gun threat at the property around 1:30 a.m.

The criminal complaint filed in the case says three juvenile girls in a vehicle told officers they had been at Quarry Hill Park with Heuangsayaseng Jr. when he got into a dispute with one of the girls. They indicated that the group then dispersed, and the girls went to the Taco Bell where they encountered Heuangsayaseng Jr.’s vehicle as they were leaving.

The charges alleged that Heuangsayaseng Jr. then pointed a gun out of the vehicle’s window at the girls. He was arrested a short time later after Rochester police stopped his vehicle and found a handgun inside it.

He was charged with three counts of second-degree assault and a gross misdemeanor charge of carrying a pistol in public without a permit. Under the terms of a plea agreement, Heuangsayaseng Jr. earlier admitted to one of the assault charges in exchange for the dismissal of the other felony counts.

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The plea deal called for a maximum of seven years in prison, but court records show Heuangsayaseng Jr. successfully argued for a downward departure from state sentencing guidelines. At a hearing earlier in the week, he was ordered to spend two months in jail and five years on probation, with a stayed 36-month prison sentence that could be imposed if he fails to meet the requirements of his probation.