No charges will be filed in the July stabbing that left one teenager dead and another injured, authorities announced today.
Jose Jesus Negrete, 15, died from his injury after a fight broke out about 12:35 a.m. July 1 in the parking lot of Domino's Pizza, 4125 E. Frontage Road, near U.S. Highway 52.
Police were dispatched for what was initially reported as an assault; the caller later said one person appeared to have been stabbed and was on the ground, unresponsive.
When officers arrived, they found Negrete, of Rochester, in "very, very critical condition," said Capt. John Sherwin. Negrete was taken to Mayo Clinic Hospital-Saint Marys Campus, where he was pronounced dead.
While officers were at the hospital, a vehicle pulled into the emergency department with another 15-year-old male, this one with a stab wound to his neck. That teenager was taken to surgery immediately, but investigators were able to speak to him later.
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According to a news release this morning from Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem , the other juvenile's "use of deadly force was reasonable and necessary."
Based on interviews with other people present, there had been earlier confrontations between Negrete and a small group of teenagers, including the other victim.
The investigation determined that on the night of the stabbing, Negrete approached the other 15-year-old and his companions to rob them, Ostrem's release says. During the attempted robbery, Negrete pulled out a large hunting knife and stabbed the other teenager; the two then struggled, and Negrete stabbed him in the neck.
The other boy was able to get the knife away from Negrete and stabbed him in the chest, the report says.
"It's clear from the investigation that, while the stab wounds that caused Mr. Negrete's death were inflicted by an identified juvenile male, Mr. Negrete was the initial primary aggressor and the juvenile male responded to that aggression in a manner to protect his own life," Ostrem said.
The prosecution "would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the juvenile did not act in self-defense ," he said.
No information was ever released about the other teenager, including his condition after the stabbing.
