A man is accused of holding other people back while another man beat and robbed a man in the bathroom of a Rochester business after the man refused to bet on a game of pool, according to a criminal complaint.
Malcolm Jamal Reaves, 36, of Redford, Michigan, is charged in Olmsted County District Court with felony aiding and abetting simple robbery and with misdemeanor fifth-degree assault. Simple robbery carries a maximum penalty of 10 years or a $20,000 fine or both. The assault count carries up to 90 days or a $1,000 fine or both. A judge issued the complaint Oct. 12.
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According to the complaint, Rochester officers were called to a business on Superior Drive Northwest at about 11:38 p.m. Oct. 10 on a report of a fight in progress. The complaint lists the offense date as on or about Oct. 9. The man told officers that two men approached him asking to play pool for money and kept asking after he said no.
He said he went to the bathroom, where one of the men grabbed him by the shoulder, said he wanted his money back and punched him, the complaint says. He said Reaves then came in and began fighting him too. The man was knocked to the ground. While the assault continued, he said, the first man took his handbag, which held his wallet.
Officers saw that the man had head injuries and was bleeding from his left ear. He identified Reaves from photos as the man who assaulted him in the bathroom, according to the complaint.
A witness told police he went into the bathroom and saw the first man on top of the man who was attacked, “pounding” him. He said Reaves got in his face, told him to get out or he was next and held everyone else off while the first man assaulted the man who was attacked. The witness did not know whether Reaves threw any punches, the complaint says. Another witness said a man blocked the bathroom door and put his hand behind his back as if he had a gun.
The other man told officers that he and a friend had put $100 on a pool table to bet on a game and that a man grabbed the money, according to the complaint. He said he followed that man to the bathroom, dodged punches and acted in self-defense. Asked how the wallet came to be in his pocket, he said he knew his money was in it, the complaint says. A witness said she never saw any money on the pool table. Reaves refused to identify himself to officers, the complaint says.
The complaint says Reaves was already in custody and orders him detained. No bail amount is listed.
