Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Rochester man has reached a plea agreement with Olmsted County prosecutors involving an assault on his brother during which a gun was fired.

The criminal complaint filed against 46-year-old Clifford Marquis Hankins says Rochester police were sent to a southwest Rochester residence on December 2, 2024 after receiving a report of a weapons violation. The report indicated that Hankins had arrived at the home with a gun, assaulted his brother with the weapon, and that caused the firearm to discharge.

Get our free mobile app

According to the court document, the responding officers were told that it appeared Hankins had been drinking and was highly agitated when he got into an argument with his sibling. He was accused of pulling a black pistol out of his pocket and striking his brother behind his right ear with the handle of the gun.

SEE ALSO: Rochester Man Jailed After Police Chase with Child Inside Vehicle

The officers reported that they found the victim bleeding from the bridge of his nose with blood on his hands and abdomen. The criminal complaint says one of the witnesses to the incident was an eight-year-old girl, who told the officers that she was playing a game on her phone when she saw Hankins hit the victim in the face twice before she heard the gunfire.

What appeared to be a bullet hole was found a few inches above the middle of the couch in the living room of the home.

An 8-year-old girl witnessed the assault

The court document says Hankins was arrested after his vehicle was later found parked at a residence in northwest Rochester. It states a search of that residence led to the discovery of a Glock 48 pistol in an attic area in the garage.

The criminal complaint indicated that Hankins was convicted of felony drug possession in Illinois in 2011 and was prohibited from possessing firearms and/or ammunition.

He was charged with second-degree assault and illegal possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a crime of violence. Under the terms of his plea agreement, the felony assault charge was dismissed in exchange for his guilty plea to the weapons charge.

Hankins is scheduled to be sentenced in June.

More Minnesota News:

• Former Southern MN School Employee Admits to Child Porn Charge
• Guilty Plea Connected to Massive Theft From Rochester Business
• Flames Consume Large Barn at Farm Near St. Charles