The Pedal Pub Massacre
Pedal Pub assault ends in six arrests
Excerpt:
Cyclist on cyclist violence in Minneapolis over the weekend. Per the AP: “Six people are facing potential criminal penalties in a series of water attacks on three pedal pubs in Minneapolis, including one that carried six off-duty police officers. … PedalPub Twin Cities manager Lisa Staplin said the first two ‘Mad Max’-style attacks Saturday evening involved bicyclists who sprayed a driver and passengers with high-powered water guns and threw water balloons at them. She said the pilot of the first pedal pub was momentarily blinded by the blast. … Kurtis Johnson, 31, of Inver Grove Heights told MPR News he was one of the men squirting at the pedal pub passengers. He says the off-duty officers used excessive force. … ‘If you can't take a joke and think that there's something more to it than just water, I mean, you've got to take a big look at your life if you think we're out to try to hurt people. We were just having fun,’ Johnson said.” Certainly good advice, but maybe misdirected here.Comment: Image capture from the article. In red ... hyperbole
Meet the "Pedal Pub Five":
Source: : Six people were arrested in the incidents and the five now charged have been released from custody. A sixth person was booked on a probable cause hold for potential terroristic threats -- he has since been released from custody but was not charged on Tuesday.
The men who were charged include John Davis Rock, Jr. who was charged with fifth-degree assault and disorderly conduct, Kurtis Wayne Johnson, charged with fifth-degree assault, Jason Leonard Carlton, Francis Wayne Bellanger and Mark William Dean -- all charged with disorderly conduct.
All five will make their first court appearance on June 4. Comment: Love the guy in upper right!
Free the Pedal Pub Five!
Be sure to view the IPhone video linked in the article.
ReplyDeleteKey quotes:
Perp: "I don't even have a water bottle, man"
Cop: "Shut the f**k up or I will break your arm"
Kare11: 6 arrested after water attacks on pedal pubs
ReplyDeleteOfficial site
My take: if they are going to turn our streets into a drinking party ... then the water ballooners should be able to have some fun too! Without having cops threatening to break arms!
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Outcome: 1 man convicted among 5 charged in ambush of Pedal Pub patrons - Shakopee man is fined, put on probation; others had their cases dismissed because of a lack of evidence. :
ReplyDeleteOf the five people charged, only one was convicted for the ambush of Pedal Pub riders with water balloons and high-velocity squirt guns in Minneapolis, a roving late-spring outburst that brought to an apex the simmering culture clash over the rolling drinking parties on the downtown social scene.
John D. Rock Jr., 25, of Shakopee, pleaded guilty Monday to misdemeanor disorderly conduct in connection with the prank. Rock was fined $300, ordered to pay restitution of $395 to the Pedal Pub proprietor and also has a stayed 45-day jail sentence hanging over his head for one year. Dropped were misdemeanor charges of fifth-degree assault and disorderly conduct involving fighting or brawling.
As for the other four, the city attorney’s office dropped misdemeanor charges for what it said was a lack of evidence. The case against Rock went forward, city spokesman Matt Lindstrom said, because of “direct evidence” against him.
The five who were charged were accused of throwing water balloons and shooting squirt guns at mobile pub passengers during a series of bicycle ride-by attacks in downtown Minneapolis on May 23. On the third foray, the targeted pedal pub patrons just happened to be off-duty Burnsville police officers, who chased down the perpetrators and held them until Minneapolis police arrived.
The case made specifically against Rock was strengthened, according to the criminal complaint, because Pedal Pub driver Destiny Hayden snapped a photo that showed Rock sporting a large water gun strapped to his hip.
Also, the complaint continued, a witness told police he saw Rock strike an off-duty officer in the head with a water gun while the officer was holding down one of Rock’s cohorts. Surveillance video also captured the blow, the complaint added.