Officer, deputy found to be justified in shooting suspect at Target in Woodbury
Chopper 5 flies above Valley Creek Plaza in Woodbury on April 22, 2024, as police respond to an "active incident."
Two members of law enforcement were found to have lawfully used force when they shot a man who pointed a pellet gun at them in Woodbury in April.
In a memo to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office determined that Officer James Stoffel with the Woodbury Public Safety Department and Deputy Brian Krook of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office were justified in using deadly force against 61-year-old Donald Eugene Roche.
The incident occurred after Roche pointed a 4.5 mm CO2-powered Crosman high-velocity SNR357 pellet gun at officers. The gun is designed to look like a real firearm, according to authorities.
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According to officials, Roche stole a wallet from a construction site in Oakdale and used stolen credit cards from the wallet to make purchases at two stores in Woodbury, including over $1,500 at a Target.
Police first saw Roche as he walked towards a vehicle in the Target parking lot off Valley Creek Road but disengaged after seeing him carrying the weapon.
After Roche got into his car, police and members of the Washington County SWAT Team set up a perimeter and tried to negotiate his surrender for over an hour.
Roche then got out of the car, still carrying the gun, and pointed it at multiple officers after they told him to put his hands in the air. Members of the SWAT team members tried using less-lethal rounds, some of which hit Roche, but he still did not surrender.
Authorities say that Roche then pointed the gun in the direction of the officers again and Officer Stoffel fired two rounds from his rifle and hit Roche. Roche then walked around the vehicle and pointed the gun at Krook, who fired four rounds from his pistol, hitting Roche once.
Officers provided medical aid to Roche, who was then brought to Regions Hospital. Roche was treated for his injuries and then released to the Washington County Jail.
Roche was charged with two counts of second-degree assault and one count each of financial transaction card fraud and third-degree burglary.
During Roche’s guilty plea to both counts of second-degree assault, he said police “had every right” to shoot him.
Roche has a sentencing hearing on Sept. 30.