Man Armed With BB Gun Caught After Fleeing Rochester PD in Skyway

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- The Olmsted County Attorney’s Office has charged a man accused of being armed with a BB gun and fleeing police in downtown Rochester.

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The criminal complaint says the ordeal occurred early Wednesday morning. The incident began when Rochester Police were called to a bar around 2 a.m. on the report of a customer brandishing a firearm.

The man was said to not be threatening anyone with the apparent gun. A responding officer followed the suspect out of the bar and into an alleyway near 3rd St. Southwest, the complaint says.

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The charges say the officer then saw the suspect drive a vehicle into the 3rd St. Parking Ramp.

Charges: Man Armed With BB Gun Flees Rochester Police Through Skyway

Police found the empty vehicle parked on the ramp’s second level and knew its owner to be 37-year-old Costin Aurelian Tita due to prior law enforcement contacts, the court filing says.

The officer spotted Tita in the ramp’s elevator vestibule and commanded him to stop. Tita refused the officer’s order and fled into an adjacent skyway through a stairwell, leaving the BB gun he had behind in the vestibule, according to the complaint.

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Police temporarily lost track of the Rochester man and called for assistance with finding him.

Tita complaint. Olmsted County Court

About 45 minutes after the initial call, a woman reported Tita had been pounding on the door of her home to let him in, the complaint states.

She told police Tita had been at the home earlier and that she had become fearful because he had a BB gun, according to the charging document.

On March 27, 2024, at approximately 2:45 AM, Rochester Police Officer Xiong responded to reports of Tita pounding on the front door of a home and asking to be let in. The Reporting Party (RP), an adult female fully identified in police reports, reported that Tita had been over at the residence earlier in the night but that she became fearful because he had a BB gun on him. RP reported that Tita returned and began loudly knocking on the door and asking to be let in. RP refused to open the door and called law enforcement.
-Tita Complaint, Olmsted County Court

While speaking with the woman a neighbor alerted officers to a notification from his home security camera that someone had entered his garage and was still believed to have been inside of it.

Officers got inside of the garage and found Tita crouched between a vehicle and garage wall. He again attempted to flee and refused officer commands before he surrendered and exited the garage in custody, the complaint says.

Tita complaint. Olmsted County Court

While booking Tita into the Olmsted County Jail, staff found a rolled up dollar bill on him that had a white powdery substance that tested positive for cocaine, according to the court document.

Tita was also displaying signs of drug impairment. Officers obtained a warrant to draw Tita’s blood to test for cocaine but Tita refused to provide a sample, the charges say.

Tita complaint. Olmsted County Court

Tita is facing the following gross misdemeanor charges:

Carrying a BB gun in a public place
Fourth-degree burglary
Driving after cancellation-inimical to public safety
DWI chemical test refusal

Tita was also charged Wednesday with a misdemeanor count of fleeing police on foot. His bail was set at $12,000 without conditions.

Court records indicate he was convicted of DWI in Olmsted County in 2016 and has had his license revoked due to suspected impairment on two occasions since 2021.

Tita has also been convicted of felony drug crimes in three prior cases, according to court records.

He’s due back in court next month.