MINNEAPOLIS — A man was sentenced Thursday after striking a plea deal for an incident during which he crashed his truck through the door of a Minneapolis fire station.
Shawn Coates was in Hennepin County District Court, where he was given 90 days in the workhouse and ordered to attend anger management and development of cognitive skills. If he completes the probation process and stays out of trouble for three years, the felony conviction for threats of violence will be removed from his record.
Additional charges of assault and damage to property were dropped as part of the plea agreement.
Coates was arrested and charged in early January of 2022 after police say he crashed his truck through an overhead door of Minneapolis Fire Station 8 at 2749 Blaisdell Ave. S. When officers arrived at the scene they found a pickup nosed up against the door and firefighters holding a man later identified as Coates.
A woman told investigators Coates was following her and she was trying to get away from him. She ran up to the fire station to get help, and firefighters on duty placed themselves between the woman and the defendant.
"I said, 'You need to get out of here now," Minneapolis Fire Captain Colm Black recalls telling Coates at the time of the incident. "I started walking her [into the station], I heard him accelerate, I turned around, and I saw him turn the wheel and he came right at me. I ran in the station."
Coates' defense attorney asked Hennepin County District Court Judge Kerry Meyer to suspend the 90 workhouse sentence and let him off with 46 days already served, but Judge Meyer imposed the longer sentence, saying Coates "minimized" what had happened. She did give him credit for the days served, meaning the defendant will only be in the workhouse for a matter of weeks, with possible work release.
The judge also ordered Coates to complete anger management and cognitive skills classes, remain chemical free and not possess guns or ammunition for the rest of his life. He is also prohibited from having contact with the female victim, the fire station or firefighters who are stationed there.
When given the opportunity to speak, Coates expressed remorse for the incident. "Your honor, I just made some poor choices. All I can do is apologize and move on with my life."
The case attained an even higher profile due to a controversy involving Hennepin County Judge Regina Chu, who came under scrutiny for releasing high-risk defendants from jail while their cases played out. As KARE 11 reported a week after the incident, Coates was one of those released by Chu despite being originally charged with multiple felonies that included an alleged attack on firefighters.
Despite strong opposition from the Hennepin County attorney, Judge Chu released Coates without bail on the condition he stay away from Fire Station 8 and his alleged victims. Chu has since retired from the bench.
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