Jackson charged in murder of man at gas station

Rodney Donta Jackson was charged with second-degree murder for shooting a man at a gas station who was throwing stones, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Thursday.

Jackson, 27, who has no permanent address, is expected to make his first court appearance Friday.

According to the criminal complaint, Jackson and his girlfriend pulled up to a pump at a gas station in the 2400 block of Bloomington Avenue Tuesday morning. When Jackson and his girlfriend returned to Jackson’s Chevrolet sports utility vehicle from the store, he found his vehicle trapped between two other vehicles.

The victim’s car was in front of Jackson’s and Jackson, his girlfriend and the victim began yelling at each other and, at one point, the woman threw a jar of Vaseline at the victim. Jackson was able to leave because the SUV behind him moved, the complaint states.

However, Jackson parked across the street and a witness and surveillance video showed the victim throwing rocks in the direction of Jackson’s SUV. According to the complaint, Jackson held a gun out the window of the vehicle and fired a single shot, which struck the victim in the head.

Jackson was arrested later in the day at a Roseville movie theater and a .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun was taken from him.

Jackson Criminal Complaint (PDF)