Rochester Man Admits to Shooting That Wounded Apartment Manager

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A sentencing hearing has been scheduled in June for the Rochester man who shot and wounded the manager of a downtown Rochester apartment complex last October.

61-year-old Robin Lawrence Helmueller today formalized a plea agreement reached last month by entering a guilty plea to a charge of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. Under the terms of the plea deal, a second count of the same charge was dropped.

Helmueller was arrested on October 20 after Rochester police responded to a report of a shooting in the manager's office at Park Towers Apartments and found the 51-year-old manager had been shot in the arm and another employee had been struck on the head. Court documents indicate Helmueller was being restrained by the wounded employees and two other people when the officers arrived.

According to the criminal complaint, Helmueller pulled a handgun out of a backpack and fired it at the apartment manager after she told him he was responsible for paying to fix some property damage to another tenant's apartment. The bullet struck the manager's arm and the other employee was injured when she heard the manager screaming and was struck on the head with the handle of the firearm when both women attempted to restrain Helmueller.

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Court records state that two other women then joined the altercation and they were able to subdue and disarm Helmueller. The manager was transported to St. Mary's Hospital to be treated for the non-life-threatening gunshot wound.

The police report on the incident says the dispute that led to the shooting stemmed from an earlier confrontation between Helmueller and a neighbor. Investigators say Helmueller suspected the other man was stealing from him and caused damage to his door and lock when he tried to break into the man's apartment. The police report described his claims against the neighbor as unsubstantiated.

Helmueller's plea agreement does not include a recommendation for sentencing.

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