Two weeks after four men were charged with allegedly shooting at and injuring a crowd of Minneapolis Black Lives Matter protesters, one of the men is facing upgraded assault charges. Allen Scarsella received the harshest indictment after the incident, in which several people protesting after the death of Jamar Clark in an officer-involved shooting were hospitalized, receiving one count of second-degree riot while armed and five counts of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon. CityPages reports that those charges are being upgraded now that medical records for an injured victim have been released:
Tuesday morning, a Hennepin County attorney announced at Scarsella's bail hearing that she wanted to amp one of those assault charges to first degree. Judge Hilary Caligiuri then raised Scarsella's bail to half a million dollars.
First degree assault charges are typically reserved for intentional crimes that result in serious injury. When Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman first presented charges against Scarsella and the three men who accompanied him on November 23, Freeman said the charges were the most severe the four could have received, given the evidence that law enforcement had at the time. He hinted that charges might be increased if one of the victims, who had been shot in the stomach, gave police his medical records.
Since then, the prosecutor has received those medical records, in addition to other evidence that may point to premeditation, a spokesman said. Those details aren't available until the Hennepin County Attorney's Office formally files its amended complaint next week.
Scarsella’s original charges could have netted him a max of 55 years, if found guilty. The upgraded charges carry a maximum of 65 years time, as well as enhanced fines.