Rochester Man Admits to Burglary Charge For Attack on Neighbor

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Rochester man has admitted to a burglary charge stemming from an attack on a woman that he allegedly blamed on a loud argument between the victim and her significant other that was preventing him from sleeping.

Court documents indicate 35-year-old Justin Peterson was arrested at his residence in an apartment complex in Marion Township on the night of April 6, 2024 after Olmsted County Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to investigate a report of an assault. When they arrived, the woman identified her neighbor as her attacker.

According to the criminal complaint, a woman and her "significant other" were arguing and he responded by leaving the apartment and walking to his vehicle. The victim stated that she then opened the door to her apartment and began yelling at her boyfriend.

The court document says Peterson allegedly stormed out of his neighboring apartment holding a Taser. The victim told the deputies he then pushed her back into her apartment and was attempting to hold her down when she bit him on the shoulder.

The charges alleged that Peterson responded by placing his left hand around her neck and lifting her off the ground, causing her to choke. The victim indicated that he eventually dropped her to the ground and Peterson grabbed herself on and went back into his apartment, where he was arrested after the deputies executed a forced entry when he refused to come outside.

The criminal complaint says the deputies reported seeing the marks on the victim's neck there were consistent with being choked. They also recovered a "brass knuckles Taser" at the scene. The court document includes an alleged utterance made by Peterson at the Olmsted County jail during which he said, "I don't care that I put my hands on a woman's back because she wouldn't shut the $%&! up while I was trying to sleep."

Under the terms of a plea agreement, Peterson has entered a guilty plea to a second-degree burglary charge. Two misdemeanor charges stemming from the incident were dismissed.

He is scheduled to be sentenced in October.