Felony charges filed against man shot by police during standoff in Woodbury Target lot

Mary Divine, Pioneer Press
·3 min read
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The man who was shot last month during a standoff with police in the parking lot of a Target in Woodbury now faces multiple felony charges.

Donald Eugene Roche, 61, of Rockford, Minn., was charged Friday in Washington County District Court with two counts of second-degree assault, one count of financial transaction card fraud and one count of third-degree burglary in connection with the events that occurred on the morning of April 22.

Roche is accused of stealing a wallet from a lunch box in a break room at a construction site in Oakdale around 8:30 a.m. April 22, which he then allegedly used to make fraudulent purchases of more than $3,000 at the Home Depot and at the Target store in Valley Creek Plaza in Woodbury, according to the criminal complaint.

The purchases included four impact wrenches, an iPad, a package of socks, a $200 Visa gift card and two Tracfone minute cards, the complaint states.

Roche also allegedly attempted additional transactions — totaling more than $7,000 — that were declined, according to the complaint.

The owner of the wallet “began receiving text alerts that his credit cards and debit card had been used to make unauthorized purchases,” the complaint states.

Police were able to locate the Honda Odyssey van with Illinois plates that Roche was driving through a license-plate reader near the construction site, according to the complaint.

Police used license-plate readers and surveillance cameras to track Roche to Woodbury, the complaint states. The readers alerted police that the Honda Odyssey had been reported as stolen near St. Louis on March 22, according to the complaint.

Around 9:15 a.m. April 22, officers located the Honda Odyssey in the Target parking lot and discovered that the steering column appeared damaged, the complaint states. As officers waited for Roche to return, they received a photo of the suspect from officers in Missouri. “He appeared to be a 50-60 year old white man, thin build, wearing a black Carhartt long sleeve shirt,” the complaint states.

Roche barricaded himself in the stolen van in the parking lot when officers tried to arrest him. Law enforcement attempted to negotiate with Roche for more than an hour, according to the complaint.

Eventually, Roche exited the van with “a black revolver” in his hand, at which point law enforcement attempted to subdue him with less-than-lethal and nonlethal force, the complaint states.

Officers shot him when he continued to ignore commands to drop the gun and pointed “a 4.5-mm BB CO2-powered Crossman revolver that had the appearance of a firearm” at police.

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The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension determined the pistol-style BB gun used by Roche fires “projectiles capable of death or great bodily harm including permanent scarring, punctured skin, and permanent eye damage,” prosecutors said in a statement.

Roche is charged with two counts of second-degree assault and one count each of credit card fraud and third-degree burglary.

“These charges are limited to Roche’s actions, and the use of force by law enforcement remains under investigation,” according to the statement.

Roche was listed in stable condition at Regions Hospital in St. Paul on Friday. He will be transferred to police custody when he is released.

The officers who fired at Roche were Washington County sheriff’s deputy Brian Krook and Woodbury police officer James Stoffel. Both are on standard administrative leave, the BCA said.

“The BCA continues to investigate law enforcement’s use of force and will present findings without a charging recommendation once the investigation is complete,” according to the statement. “The Washington County Attorney’s Office will then review the findings and determine whether the use of force was justified.”