Man Pleads Guilty in Recruiter Hit and Run Case

A 52-year-old Minneapolis man accused of hitting two uniformed Army recruiters with his 1994 Jeep Cherokee—and dragging one man for nearly three-quarters of a mile—pleaded guilty Wednesday to two charges stemming from the Sept. 17 incident, the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office announced.

Enrico Taylor pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree assault and one count of second-degree assault.

“We are pleased with today’s plea where the defendant took responsibility for his criminal conduct and spared any further strain on his victims and their families,” a release quoted Ramsey County Attorney John Choi. “We look forward to the sentencing phase where the defendant will hear directly from those whose lives he greatly harmed through his actions.”

Taylor confessed to Roseville detectives that he hit two pedestrians and fled the scene Sept. 17 at the Crossroads of Roseville Shopping Center on County Road B2, according to police. Taylor said he panicked, heard screaming coming from his vehicle, stopped and tried to pull the pedestrian from beneath his Jeep Cherokee.

The 42-year-old victim disputes that, though. He says the vehicle stopped at one point and that the driver got out to look beneath the vehicle but that the driver never tried to help him, police said.

The man was dragged to the intersection of County Road B2 and Prior Avenue before he was able to free himself from the undercarriage of the vehicle. He had a “severe, non-life threatening abrasion injuries” to his body and a broken leg.

The other recruiter, a 29-year old Brooklyn Center man, went over the top of the Cherokee and was able to walk away with injuries that didn’t require immediate medical attention.