New Hope man officially charged with depriving person of custodial rights, burglary
(ABC 6 News) – UPDATE: The Olmsted County Attorney’s Office charged Roderick Miguell Malone Jr. with 1st-degree burglary–assault person in building; depriving a parent or custodian of parental rights–refuse to return minor; domestic assault; and fleeing law enforcement in a motor vehicle on Thursday, Feb. 1.
He is currently held at the Olmsted County ADC on $500,000 bail with or without conditions.
(ABC 6 News) – A New Hope man was taken into custody Tuesday after a series of incidents in NW Rochester.
According to Capt. Casey Moilanen, 42-year-old Roderick Malone was the subject of several 9-1-1 calls on the morning of Jan. 30.
Police recommended charges of kidnapping, child endangerment, 1st-degree burglary, domestic assault, interference with a 9-1-1 call, simple robbery, theft, and fleeing law enforcement in a motor vehicle.
According to Moilanen, at about 11:19 a.m. Tuesday, Gibbs Elementary staff called police to say that Malone had taken a 6-year-old child from the school (5525 56th St. NW) and left in a motor vehicle.
According to staff, Malone had permission to visit the child, but not to leave with them.
School staff failed to stop the two, but gave law enforcement an outfit and vehicle description for Malone, Moilanen said.
Previous incident at White Oak Park
A few minutes later, dispatch received another call from a woman who said around 11:10, she had been sitting in her car at White Oak Park (4597 55th St. NW) when a man matching Malone’s description asked her for the time, then tried repeatedly to open her front and back car doors.
ABC 6 News reported yesterday that several Rochester residents had made posts about a man attempting to enter parked cars to kidnap women.
Moilanen said law enforcement only received one call about Malone allegedly trying to enter a parked car, and he did not believe the incident was a kidnapping attempt.
Third incident in Rochester neighborhood
At about 11:49 a.m., a neighbor in the 5500 block of 44th Avenue NW allegedly told police they saw a man drag his neighbor — a woman connected to Malone and the child he had taken from school — up her driveway and into the home.
RELATED: Man taken into custody following pursuit – ABC 6 News – kaaltv.com
Police drove toward the home and received another report that Malone had left the house and driven away with the child.
According to Moilanen, Malone allegedly fled police on 55th street, then turned onto 18th street before pulling over south of 75th street and being arrested.
Moilanen said Malone allegedly pulled over, then resumed driving during the pursuit, and dug through a glove compartment before exiting the vehicle.
Moilanen said the child was unharmed and returned to the woman.
Police allegedly discovered that Malone had smashed a patio door at the home and disconnected the Wifi at the woman’s house, rendering the security cameras useless.
The woman also said Malone had taken her cell phone when she tried to call 9-1-1.
The phone was later recovered from Malone’s vehicle.
Criminal history
In 2017, Malone was taken into custody in a domestic incident in June, then allegedly fired a gun at three adults outside his Rochester home in August–shattering the sternum of one with a bullet.
He was acquitted of three charges of attempted murder and assault, as a court-appointed examiner determined that he was undergoing a psychotic episode during the shooting.
He was committed “as mentally ill” for roughly a year, beginning in May of 2018, according to court documents.
In October of 2023, Malone was charged with 1st-degree burglary after allegedly breaking into a woman’s home and attacking a man there on the 16th.
One day later, he was charged with 5th-degree assault and disorderly conduct at Mayo Clinic, 1216 2nd Street SW.
According to court documents, Malone was scheduled to appear on the burglary charges Tuesday, Jan. 30. He failed to appear at the Olmsted County hearing, according to court records.
He is also scheduled to appear for a jury trial on the assault charge in April of 2024.