Oct. 23—ROCHESTER — One of two men accused of exchanging gunfire in the parking lot of a Rochester apartment complex in 2023 was sentenced Oct. 17 to five years in prison.
The alleged shooters, Aaron Armond Caradine, 19, of Rochester, and Daniel Ray Young, Jr., 22, of Stewartville, were both charged with use of a dangerous weapon in a drive-by shooting, a misdemeanor. Caradine faced two additional charges of first- and second-degree assault, both felonies.
Caradine entered a guilty plea to possession of a firearm as a felon, which was the amended charge of first-degree assault causing great bodily harm. Following his plea, Caradine was scheduled to appear in court on October 17 for a plea hearing.
A judgment was entered on October 17. In exchange for his guilty plea, Olmsted County District Judge Kathy Wallace dismissed the use of a dangerous weapon in a drive-by shooting and the second-degree assault charge. Caradine received 350 days of credit for service.
According to the criminal complaint, on Oct. 27, 2023, Rochester police responded to a report of a shooting at the Quarters Apartment building in southeast Rochester. Officers learned that an altercation at a party in one of the apartments resulted in someone discharging a gun. pistol.
Police discovered that Young was driving a vehicle in the complex parking lot after the shooting when Caradine, a passenger in another vehicle, shot at Young’s car. One of the bullets hit a woman in Young’s car.
Surveillance video obtained from the apartment complex showed Caradine shooting at Young’s vehicle and Young exiting his vehicle to return fire.
Young then took off and drove the injured woman, who had been shot in the eye, to the hospital. The woman can no longer see through the eye in which she was shot.
Police located Young’s vehicle and found a bullet hole in the windshield and a spent .45-caliber shell casing was found in the driver’s seat. Police also found a gun in the backseat.
Young initially denied firing a gun, but admitted it when shown a video of the incident.
Police also found several bullet casings around the apartment complex.
After Caradine’s arrest, he admitted to firing a gun at Young’s car.
“You got me, bro,” he told police, according to the complaint. “I did it because I’m losing myself. I regret it. I did it, let’s take our time.”
Young is scheduled to appear for a motion hearing on Oct. 31.
