Warrant issued for Rochester 18-year-old on attempted murder, assault charges
Mar. 23—A warrant has been issued for 18-year-old Colby James Cleveland after police said he shot his father during an argument late last week at a northwest Rochester apartment complex.
Cleveland is charged in Olmsted County District Court with second-degree attempted murder and second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.
Rochester police were called just after 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 19, 2021, to Essex Park Apartments, 1027 41st St. NW, for a report of a shooting. Officers were told that two shots had been fired.
At the apartment complex, officers followed a trail of blood to an apartment where they found a 49-year-old man standing in the doorway bleeding heavily from his left leg, according to the criminal complaint. The man suffered "a gunshot wound high on his inner left thigh."
The man told officers that he had asked his son, identified as Cleveland, about rent money earlier in the day and said that he told his son if he was not going to help with the rent, he would not be able to stay in the apartment. Ten to 15 minutes later, Cleveland reportedly came out of his bedroom with a bag and started walking out of the apartment. The 49-year-old man asked for the key and Cleveland said he was not going to leave his things there without a key.
An argument ensued and "the two went to the ground wrestling," the man told police. The man said he thought he saw a handgun flash through his field of vision and was struck with something hard. The man backed off, but then followed Cleveland out into the parking lot, the complaint states.
It was there that the man saw a gun in the 18-year-old's hand and turned to walk away, the complaint states. He told police he heard the first shot and did not know if he was hit until he felt the blood running down his leg. Cleveland is believed to have left the area in a dark colored sedan.
In the apartment building's parking lot, officers found two live 9mm casings and two casings between two vehicles as well as a vehicle with an apparent bullet hole.
A witness told police they heard a loud argument coming from the 49-year-old man's apartment and then again in the hallway. The person also reported hearing a person say "I'm going to (expletive) kill you" and "you're (expletive) dead," the complaint states.
Another witness reported hearing gunshots and then going outside, where he saw a man with a gun in his hand. The witness said the man "cocked" the gun back and said "you're lucky I don't shoot you in the head right now."
Cleveland's whereabouts are currently unknown.
"(Cleveland) is likely still armed at this time," the criminal complaint concludes. "For public safety and to assure (Cleveland) is promptly apprehended, a nationwide complaint warrant is requested."