Rochester man pleads not guilty to attempted murder charge
May 12—A Rochester teenager pleaded not guilty this week to charges that he shot his father following an argument at a Northwest Rochester apartment complex this past winter.
Colby James Cleveland, 18, pleaded not guilty in Olmsted County District Court to charges of second-degree attempted murder and second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.
Rochester police were called just after 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 19, 2021, to Essex Park Apartments, 1027 41st St. NW, for a report of a shooting.
Officers followed a trail of blood to an apartment, where they found a 49-year-old man standing in the doorway bleeding heavily from his left leg, according to the criminal complaint. The man identified Cleveland as his son and the shooter.
Cleveland was not at the apartment complex when officers arrived. A warrant was issued for his arrest and he turned himself into law enforcement less than a week after the alleged incident.
He has been held at the Olmsted County Adult Detention since March 23. At his first appearance in court the following day, Judge Joseph Chase set conditional bail at $500,000 and unconditional bail at $1 million. A trial date has not been set, according to court records.
