Man Sentenced For Hammer Attack at Rochester Grocery Store
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Rochester man who attacked a shopper with a hammer at a local grocery store last year will not have to serve any additional time behind bars.
According to court documents, 29-year-old Pedro Vasquez was arrested on July 5 at Cub Foods in southeast Rochester after police responded to the business and found the shopper restraining him in the deli area of the store. The victim told the officers that he had just been assaulted by Vasquez who was armed with a hammer.
The criminal complaint says the victim stated that he spotted Vasquez running at him while holding the hammer. The victim stated that Vasquez then fell to the ground when he tried to swing the hammer and that he got on top of Vasquez and held him there until the officers arrived.
The court documents also say other witnesses reported seeing Vasquez acting weird and arguing with other people in the store. At one point, Vasquez was spotted going through an employee only door and coming back out with a hammer.
READ MORE: Man Wielding Hammer Arrested at Rochester, MN Cub Foods Store
He was charged with second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and a misdemeanor assault charge. Under a plea agreement reached earlier this year, Vasquez entered a guilty plea to the second-degree assault charge and the misdemeanor charge was dropped.
He was sentenced this morning to five years on probation with a stayed 20 month prison term that could be imposed if he does not meet the terms of his probation. Vasquez was also given a 190 day jail sentence but that was erased by the time is already spent in jail since his arrest.
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Gallery Credit: Samm Adams
