Maple Grove man sentenced to federal prison for carjacking at Blaine grocery store

A Maple Grove man will spend time in federal prison for a violent carjacking in a Blaine grocery store parking lot last fall.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says 21-year-old Justin Michael Kittleson was sentenced this week to 10 years (121 months) in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

Blaine police previously said a 40-year-old woman and her 60-year-old father were loading groceries into their vehicle outside the Cub Foods in Northtown Mall on the afternoon of Sept. 24 when Kittleson came up and pointed a gun at the woman. A struggle ensued between the father and Kittleson, and prosecutors say a shot was fired and is believed to have grazed the father’s ear.

Kittleson then got control of the victims’ vehicle and drove off. He was found five days later as police executed a search warrant, and two guns were also seized, the attorney’s office says.

Kittleson had pleaded guilty to a count of carjacking and another of brandishing a gun in a violent crime back in April.