Rochester Man With Violent History Accused of Threatening Woman With Gun During Drug Deal
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A Rochester man with a history of violent crime is facing new charges connected to a drug deal last fall.
That’s according to a criminal complaint filed in Olmsted County Court on Thursday. The incident happened in the parking lot of an unspecified Rochester apartment complex on Halloween.
The charges say a woman told Rochester Police she had arranged a meeting with 21-year-old Robert Alvin Cleaves to purchase marijuana. She said Cleaves and another man were in the back seat of a vehicle she was in to complete the drug deal when a man unknown to the trio walked by the parking lot.
The woman said Cleaves reacted by accusing the man and victim of setting him up. He then brandished a handgun and pressed it against the woman’s head, the complaint says.
The man in the backseat then grabbed the gun and tried to wrestle it away from Cleaves. Cleaves freed himself from the brief altercation and fled the vehicle on foot, the charges say.
The woman said Cleaves later apologized to her and claimed the gun was not loaded. Cleaves told police he was inside of the vehicle with the man and woman but denied having a gun during the altercation, according to the complaint.
Cleaves was charged with a count of felony second-degree assault and felon in possession of a firearm.
Court records indicate Cleaves has a history of felony convictions for violent crimes that dates back to 2020. Those convictions include domestic assault and second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.
Cleaves was charged last month in a case in which he’s accused of fleeing a traffic stop and abandoning a vehicle that he left a gun modified to become and automatic firearm in. That case is still pending.
Cleaves is due to make his first appearance in the gun threat case next month.
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