Fargo man pleads guilty to armed robbery and other crimes in Grand Forks County
Feb. 2—GRAND FORKS — A Fargo man accused of armed robbery, fleeing law enforcement and other crimes changed his plea and was sentenced in Grand Forks County court on Thursday, Feb. 1.
Ahmed Abdi Hassan, 20, pleaded guilty to Class B felony armed robbery, Class C felony theft between $1,000 and $10,000, Class C felony fleeing a police officer and Class C felony reckless endangerment — extreme indifference.
His remaining five charges — Class C felony theft of a key, Class C felony fleeing a police officer, Class C felony reckless endangerment — extreme indifference, Class C felony unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia and Class B misdemeanor driving under suspension — were dismissed.
At 1:18 a.m.
on Nov. 18, Grand Forks police were notified the North Dakota Highway Patrol initiated a vehicle pursuit but terminated it once the vehicle entered city limits, according to an affidavit filed in the case.
An officer located the vehicle and pursued it. The driver — Hassan — disregarded traffic signals and drove recklessly, the affidavit said. This vehicle, a Pontiac Grand Prix, was later located in a parking lot.
Grand Forks County sheriff's deputies were notified of a potentially armed carjacking shortly after, at 1:23 a.m. The reporting party said a male approached him in a parking lot, telling him to hand over his keys "or he was going to shoot him," the affidavit said.
The male, later identified as Hassan, had one hand in his pocket during the altercation, but it was unclear whether he actually had a gun. Hassan drove off in the stolen vehicle, which was a Mazda 6.
When law enforcement located this vehicle, another pursuit took place. Hassan evaded capture until he was just south of Argusville in Cass County, where local deputies successfully spiked the vehicle's tires.
For the crimes, Hassan was granted a suspended five-year sentence with the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. He may serve time, though, for an unrelated federal case.
He will be on supervised probation in the Grand Forks County case for two years after his release from federal custody.
