No charges in Minneapolis attack that left teen worker assaulted and bitten

A suspect who allegedly attacked and bit a downtown Minneapolis teen restaurant worker as he took out the garbage last month will apparently not be charged, despite the young worker suffering several deep bite wounds.

The attack happened shortly after 9 p.m. outside the Lotus Restaurant on Tuesday, July 29 in the Loring Park neighborhood of downtown Minneapolis. Nineteen-year-old Jezarius Sheldon said he was taking out the trash when a man screamed and cursed at him and then rushed at him, pushing him against the window of the store, first reported by WCCO.

That’s when Sheldon says his response turned into self-defense, and he began utilizing his jiu-jitsu skills and his experience as a high school wrestler. Sheldon says the attacker’s height of about 6’2” gave the attacker reach to “latch on” to him, eventually biting Sheldon six times. Surveillance video showed a couple other men present, who Sheldon said pulled the two apart, but that the attacker “kept coming for him.”

Photos of Sheldon’s injuries (top) were posted online following the attack by one of Lotus’s owners, Yoom Nguyen, who said in a Facebook post, “We need to hold these perpetrators accountable.”

Police didn’t locate the suspect until several days later, when they arrested David Darnael Brown, 32, who was booked into Hennepin County Jail on a probable cause charge of third-degree assault on Aug. 4.

Forty-eight hours later, Brown was released from custody without being charged. A source familiar with the case told Crime Watch Minneapolis that the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office (HCAO) declined to charge Brown because “the victim knew how to fight.”

Crime Watch filed a data request to the HCAO to get confirmation or an official response on why charges were declined against Brown. The HCAO declined to give a response, stating that the information “is not public at this time.”

Alpha News also reached out to the HCAO for comment but did not receive a response.

Brown has at least 11 prior convictions, including the violent crime of first-degree burglary, and several convictions related to violations of domestic protection orders.

A subsequent Facebook post by Nguyen stated that Sheldon is a “straight-A student” with a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and a full scholarship to the University of Minnesota, and that the Minneapolis Police Department had reached out to offer Sheldon a job following the attack.

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Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.

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