Minneapolis teen charged in violent monthlong robbery spree in 2021

A Minneapolis teenager has been certified as an adult to face charges in connection to a violent robbery spree in the fall of 2021.

A judge formally certified 18-year-old Jabron Dedrick Jiles as an adult on Monday. He’s charged with 11 counts of first-degree aggravated robbery and four counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon for a string of violence when he was 16 years old.

The incidents, which ranged from Sept. 15, 2021, through Oct. 21, 2021, resulted not only in loss of money and property for many victims but also physical injuries.

According to charging documents, Jiles and two other males robbed people inside an apartment in the 2600 block of 16th Avenue South in the first incident. Jiles allegedly was childhood friends with one of the victims and, during that robbery, his accomplices allegedly pointed guns at the victims, one of whom was holding a 3-week-old child.

Jiles and the other males are accused of taking the victims’ cellphones and around $2,000 in cash before running away.

Two weeks later, Jiles and another person allegedly robbed a welding company in the 2300 block of Second Street North. In that incident, Jiles allegedly pointed a gun at an employee and hit him in the head, causing a deep, bleeding cut.

On Oct. 13, Minneapolis police were called to a garden store in the 3700 block of 42nd Avenue South after Jiles, and another male allegedly robbed the store at gunpoint. His accomplice is also accused of hitting an employee in the head twice and struggling with employees. The employee who was hit in the head suffered a broken nose, broken cheekbone, and several chipped teeth, charging documents state.

Later that same day, Jiles and another male allegedly robbed a cafe in the 2200 block of Hennepin Avenue. An employee told police that Jiles was asking about earrings before he pulled out a gun and demanded money from the cash register. When they couldn’t get into a back room, they demanded money from a second cash register, then ran away, court documents state.

Three days later, Jiles and two others allegedly robbed a gas station in the 6000 block of Penn Avenue South. An employee told police one of the males pointed a gun at him and demanded money from the cash register and safe, as well as the employee’s credit and debit cards. They then ran away.

On Oct. 18, a business in the 400 block of Penn Avenue South and another in the 400 block of Cedar Lake Road South reported that Jiles and another male robbed them at gunpoint. During those incidents, Jiles allegedly punched an employee in the face several times, then stole her backpack full of belongings. That victim had to be taken to a hospital for trauma to her head. Meanwhile, the other male held another employee at gunpoint and demanded cash from the register. An employee at the second business gave a similar account, saying they held the cashier at gunpoint and then ran away with the money.

Two days later, Jiles and two males allegedly robbed a skincare business in the 4000 block of Nicollet Avenue South. In that incident, court documents state the robbers held the victims at gunpoint, made threats, took money, iPads and cellphones.

On Oct. 21, Minneapolis police were called to two robberies — one in the 4800 block of 28th Avenue South, the other just afterward in the 2300 block of 28th Street Southeast. An employee at the first place, a bakery, said Jiles pulled out a gun and demanded money from the register. The other two acted as lookouts, then they ran away with the cash, court documents state. Video showed the same three robbers went to the second business, pointed guns at victims and, took their money, wallets or phones, then fled.

Jiles made his first court appearance Tuesday. His next hearing is set for March 13.