By Shawn Hogendorf, Staff Writer

An 18-year-old Minneapolis man was arrested after he allegedly pulled a gun, cocked it and pointed it at a father and son who confronted the man about money he stole in the parking lot of the Tiowakan Spiritual Center on the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux reservation on Nov. 13.

Police arrested Rolando Demetrio Ruiz shortly after the incident near County Road 83 and Dean Lakes Boulevard in Shakopee after receiving the report of the assault.

Ruiz was charged with two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon by the Scott County Attorney’s Office this week. Ruiz is no longer in custody at the Scott County Jail.

According to the criminal complaint, police responded to a call of an assault in the parking lot of the Tiowakan Spiritual Center, 14625 Prairie Grass Drive, at about 10:08 p.m. on Nov. 13.

A father and son reported that after dinner the two were driving past the spiritual center when they saw a car with lights on in the spiritual center’s parking lot. The boy thought the car belonged to a man who allegedly stole money from him in the past and asked his father to pull into the parking lot so he could talk with Ruiz about the money, the complaint stated.

The father pulled into the parking lot and blocked in Ruiz’s car.

The father told police both his son and Ruiz got out of their cars, and Ruiz allegedly walked toward the father’s car with a gun, cocked it, pointed the gun at both the father and son and told them he was going to kill them, according to the criminal complaint.

The father told his son to get back in the car and Ruiz also got back in his vehicle at that time, police said. The father and son followed Ruiz as he dropped a juvenile off at her home and continued to follow him until they saw police pursue Ruiz’s car, the complaint stated.

Police stopped Ruiz in the CVS parking lot near County Road 83 and Dean Lakes Boulevard.

As police approached the vehicle, Ruiz threw a gun out of the car, according to the criminal complaint.

Both the father and son identified Ruiz and the gun.

After being stopped, Ruiz told police he didn’t understand what was going on and that, “I was always told that if I found something that wasn’t mine I needed to get rid of it,” the complaint stated.

After police interviewed the juvenile who was in Ruiz’s car, she told police that Ruiz was in the driver’s seat when the boy got out of the car with what looked like a hammer in his hand.

The girl said Ruiz got out of the car and cocked back a gun. The girl also told police she never saw a gun. The girl said she and Ruiz left when they heard police were coming.

If convicted, Ruiz faces a maximum of 14 years in prison and $28,000 in fines.

Shawn Hogendorf can be reached at (952) 345-6374 or shogendorf@swpub.com.