Minneapolis Man Admits to Downtown Rochester Knifepoint Robbery

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- The Olmsted County Attorney’s Office has struck a plea deal with a Minneapolis man accused of committing a knife-point robbery in downtown Rochester earlier this year. 

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41-year-old Brandon Carmichael was charged with felony aggravated first-degree robbery and felony simple robbery in January. The criminal complaint says on January 4, Carmichael followed a customer walking out of a downtown Rochester restaurant and demanded his wallet after showing the man he had a knife. 

The victim complied with Carmichael and gave his description to officers. Rochester police officers then went to the Salvation Army where they found Carmichael still armed with the knife. The victim identified Carmichael as the alleged robber through surveillance photos and during a show-up identification, according to the complaint. 

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The plea agreement, filed in Olmsted County Court Friday, calls for Carmichael to admit to a felony first-degree aggravated robbery charge and amended second-degree aggravated robbery charge. The sentence in the plea agreement calls for a 46 month prison term and the dropping of the first-degree charge at sentencing if Carmichael meets the terms disclosed in the agreement. 

If Carmichael violates the terms, the first-degree aggravated robbery charge will stand and he’ll be sentenced to 78 months behind bars, court documents say. 

Court records indicate Carmichael has a criminal record dating back to 2004 that includes convictions for theft, felony threats and felony domestic assault. He’s set to be formally sentenced for the robbery in May.