Six Years in Prison for 2019 Shooting in Rochester

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A 23-year-old Rochester man was sentenced today to six years in prison in a 2019 shooting case.

Aries Candler entered into a plea agreement last week and admitted to a drive-by shooting charge in exchange for the dismissal of attempted murder, felony assault and weapons possession charge. He was given credit for the over 13 months is already spent in jail.

Candler was arrested after Rochester police obtained a security camera video from a building near the scene of the shooting on a residential street near Eastwood Golf Course on October 29, 2019. Court records also indicate Candler implicated himself in the crime through a text message conversation.

He was accused of opening fire on a man and woman in an SUV. No one was injured but two bullets struck the SUV and a nearby home was hit by several bullets. Candler was also prosecuted for a shooting in 2014 that left a man with a gunshot wound on his chin. Investigators described the incident as a drug related robbery. He was placed on probation in that case.