One man pleads guilty and another leaves court in Rochester fraud case

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) – One of two out-of-state men accused of defrauding a Rochester woman of thousands of dollars has admitted to felony charges, while the other man recently failed to appear for a court hearing in the case.

21-year-old Gabriel Jude Weatherspoon of South Bend, Indiana, and 31-year-old Demoonte Tequis Brazil of Athens, Georgia were both charged in late April following an investigation by Rochester Police. According to court documents, the two men were accused of committing what was called a “law enforcement fraud” that cost the victim $16,000.

The criminal complaint states the victim received a call from a person claiming to be a lieutenant with the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office. The man told her she had missed a court date and would be arrested unless she paid an outstanding $10,000 bail bond. The woman told investigators she followed the man's instructions and gave the money to a man she believed to be a bail agent.

The charges against the two men also state that the woman sent another payment of $6,000 to the same man about an hour after the first transfer. At that point, the woman told police she realized she might have been scammed and contacted authorities.

According to court documents, investigators reviewed security camera videos that recorded the transactions and were able to identify a suspicious vehicle that was stopped by Rochester police. The criminal complaint states the vehicle was driven by Weatherspoon and one of its passengers was Brazil, who was identified by the victim as the fake bail bondsman.

Weatherspoon pleaded guilty today as part of a plea agreement that resulted in the dismissal of charges of theft by deception. He was sentenced to three years' probation and ordered to pay $12,000 in restitution.

According to court documents, Brazil was scheduled to appear in Olmsted County Court for a hearing last week but failed to show up. The week before, the judge hearing his case had approved a defense request to release him from jail without bail. His bail had previously been set at $500,000.

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