Man pleads guilty to 2022 armed carjacking at Blaine Cub Foods

A Maple Grove man has pleaded guilty to charges connected to an armed carjacking at a Blaine grocery store in September of 2022, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger.

Justin Michael Kittleson, 20, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court Wednesday to one count of carjacking and one count of brandishing a firearm during a violent crime.

On September 24, 2022, Kittleson targeted two people as they left the Cub Foods in Blaine and loaded groceries into their car.

According to court officials, Kittleson approached one of the victims at the trunk of the car and pointed a gun at them. The second victim tried to intervene, which resulted in the gun being fired and grazing the second victim’s ear.

Kittleson then got in the car and drove away, as stated in the news release.

A 9MM shell casing was recovered at the scene by the Blaine Police Department. After looking at surveillance video footage and with the help of members of the public, officers were able to identify and locate Kittleson.

On September 29, 2022, law enforcement executed a search warrant at a house associated with Kittleson and found two 9MM firearms and a hooded sweatshirt that matched the one Kittleson was wearing in the surveillance footage.

Kittleson is scheduled to be sentenced on August 16, 2023.