A Minneapolis man described as the ringleader in the 2023 beating and robbery of a Mahtomedi man as he arrived home with $38,000 in casino winnings was sentenced to more than five years in prison on Monday.

Shawn Eric Lewis Sr., 54, had pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting first-degree aggravated robbery for coordinating the attack on the 68-year-old after he pulled into his driveway from Treasure Island Resort & Casino about 2:15 a.m. Dec. 10, 2023.

Shawn Eric Lewis Sr. (Courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office)

Lewis was among five men, including his son, Shawn Eric Lewis Jr., who were charged in the robbery, which the victim said Monday left him with ongoing physical and emotional health issues.

Nick Hydukovich, criminal division head for the Washington County Attorney’s Office, read a statement in court from the victim, who said as he was being “stalked, followed and vigorously kicked and punched in my head and my body, I thought I was going to die.”

John Chitwood, the elder Lewis’ attorney, argued that his role was less serious than a typical first-degree aggravated robbery, saying he did not “inflict any blows” or take the cash. He asked Judge Siv Mjanger for a downward departure to a three-year prison term.

Hydukovich said that Shawn Eric Lewis Sr., despite not physically committing the robbery, was the “ringleader, the hub between the spokes that everyone else was acting, in terms of tracking the victim’s location, getting the information from one person, passing it along to the next person.”

Hydukovich noted it was Lewis’ third first-degree aggravated robbery conviction, adding he had been released from prison less than a year and a half before the Mahtomedi attack.

Mjanger agreed with Hydukovich and his request for a 67-month sentence, saying his conduct was not less onerous. Evidence showed Lewis was nearby waiting in his vehicle, she said.

“I get that he didn’t throw the physical punches,” she said. “But I also believe that without his involvement and without his planning and preparation and essentially stalking of the victim, this wouldn’t have happened the way it did.”

In June, Shawn Eric Lewis Jr., 37, of Bloomington, was sentenced to nearly five years in prison after he pleaded guilty to the same robbery charge as his father. Two other charges in the case — abetting second-degree robbery and aiding and abetting threats of violence — were dismissed as part of a plea agreement, which also included the length of his prison term.

Casino acquaintances

The victim told police he returned home in the 700 block of Griffin Court with his cash winnings when a red pickup pulled up, according to the criminal complaints.

Shawn Eric Lewis Jr. and Tristin Tyler Jacox-Mann, 35, of Golden Valley, got out of the truck and began punching and kicking the victim, prosecutors say. Deangelo Romaine Jacox, 34, of Coon Rapids, was the alleged getaway driver.

During the attack, the victim’s girlfriend and her niece came outside. One of the men pointed a gun at the women and said, “You two (expletive) better get back inside or I will kill you both,” the girlfriend told the court at the younger Lewis’ June 3 sentencing.

After the men left in the truck, the victim took off after them in his own vehicle.

He pulled over and met with a sheriff’s deputy, while other law enforcement officers pursued and eventually stopped the suspects’ pickup truck near the intersection of Minnesota 36 and White Bear Avenue.

MnDOT highway camera footage showed a red SUV following the victim as he pursued the suspects on Highway 36. Shawn Eric Lewis Sr. was the registered owner of the SUV.

“Mr. Lewis Sr.’s vehicle drives literally right by the traffic stop,” prosecutor Hydukovich said in court Monday. “Police don’t know that he’s involved at that point, so they don’t stop him.”

The victim later told police that he ran into Philip William Davids Sr., a man he knew from his prior gambling, while at the casino on Dec. 9. He said he believed Davids was following him that night, so he went to the bathroom to try to lose him. Davids followed him into the bathroom and struck up a conversation.

When he left the bathroom, he saw Davids make a phone call. He exited the casino and saw Davids trying to catch up to him, the charges say.

Investigators discovered through analyzing cellphones that Jacox-Mann and Lewis Sr. had made 20 calls to each other in the hours leading up to and shortly after the robbery.

Also, Hydukovich said Monday, phone data showed that Davids followed the victim home from the same casino one night exactly two weeks before the attack. Shawn Eric Lewis Sr., meanwhile, was waiting near the Mahtomedi home.

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The victim told the Pioneer Press in June that law enforcement was able to retrieve the stolen cash.

Shawn Eric Lewis Sr. will receive credit for just over one-and-a-half years already served in custody.

In October, Jacox pleaded guilty to fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle. He’s scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 15.

Davids faces a charge of aiding and abetting first-degree aggravated robbery and has a next hearing set for Sept. 26.

Jacox-Mann has an October jury trial scheduled on charges of aiding and abetting first- and second-degree robbery and aiding and abetting threats of violence.

LOS ANGELES — Byron Buxton made news last week during the All-Star Game media day when, asked about the possibility of being traded, he replied that he couldn’t be dealt.

“I got a no trade clause,” the Twins’ star said. “I’m a Minnesota Twin for the rest of my life, so that’s the best feeling in the world knowing I get to walk into a clubhouse and it’s going to say Twins for the rest of my life.”

Utilityman Willi Castro sung a similar tune this week, though unlike Buxton, it’s not as clear that he will get his wish.

With the trade deadline approaching next week and Castro an impending free agent, he could be a valuable player for other teams if the Twins opt to sell at the deadline.

“I want to be a Twin, for sure,” Castro said. “I want to be a Twin for the rest of my life.”

It doesn’t seem so surprising that Castro feels loyalty to the Twins. After all, they helped revitalize his career after he was non-tendered by the Detroit Tigers in 2022.

The Twins signed him to a minor league deal and gave him an opportunity to play — he made the roster in 2023 out of spring training as a non-roster invite and carved out a role for himself, eventually becoming an all-star last season.

He has been among the Twins’ most valuable players again this year, thanks in large part to his ability to move around the field, bouncing between the infield and outfield as needed.

But with the trade deadline approaching on July 31 and the Twins entering Monday five games behind in the wild card race — and 11 1/2 games behind the Central Division-leading Detroit Tigers — Castro could help a contending team in a lot of ways.

Despite chatter surrounding his future, Castro said he doesn’t really think about it and is doing his best to try to block out that noise.

“If they want to trade me, I guess I’ve got to go. You don’t control that,” Castro said. “I know there are some other teams that are fighting, but whatever happens happens. I’m going to be sad if they trade me, of course, but I don’t really think about that. I just go out there and get my job done and that’s about it.”

Southern California homecoming

A trip to southern California served as a homecoming for a number of Twins, including Royce Lewis, DaShawn Keirsey Jr. and Ty France.

Lewis and Keirsey, playing at Dodger Stadium for the first time, both expressed excitement over the prospect. Keirsey grew up in San Diego but lives now in Orange County, less than 50 miles south of Los Angeles. Lewis also grew up in Orange County, and both were planning on having a group of family and friends show up this week.

“I’ll soak it in,” Lewis said. “I think I’ll probably end up playing better, too. Just like enjoy it. … Obviously I want our team to wi. But man, I’m going to enjoy this … because this is like a dream come true.”

Briefly

After facing Shohei Ohtani on Monday night, the Twins get to see another all-star on Tuesday. Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start the second game of the series for the Dodgers. The pitcher has a 2.59 earned-run average in 19 games this season. He will be opposed by Simeon Woods Richardson, who has a 1.47 ERA across his last six starts.

LOS ANGELES — Kody Clemens took the mound in the eighth inning on Sept. 5, 2022, his team down by 10 runs. It was an otherwise forgettable game for the Detroit Tigers, who were getting blown out by the Los Angeles Angels. But it was certainly memorable for Clemens.

That’s because one of the batters he faced was two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, now with the Dodgers, who Clemens and the Twins are playing this week in Los Angeles. Ohtani fouled off the first pitch he saw, watched a ball go by, fouled off one more and then looked at strike three, a 68.4 mile per hour pitch from Clemens.

“We’re basically conceding the gam. But when I had to face him, I was locked in,” Clemens said. “I was hoping something cool would happen. I wasn’t really expecting him to not swing. Once I struck him out, it was just like kind of pure emotion. Didn’t think that was going to happen. I was just like very shocked. It was super cool.”

Ohtani signed the ball for Clemens, which is now in his house in Texas. That ball made some history for Clemens, putting him and his father in the history books as the father-son duo with the most combined strikeouts in the major leagues. Kody now has two. His dad, Roger, has 4,672.

Ohtani himself is all over the record book. And with the Twins facing the Dodgers this week — Ohtani started Monday night’s game in an abbreviated outing as he builds his way back from elbow surgery in 2023 — the Twins couldn’t help but marvel at his ability.

“(It’s) not hard to look at the guy and truly appreciate the things he’s doing, because nobody else is really capable of doing it,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I don’t think there has been for a very long time, if ever.”

After last year becoming the first and only member of the 50-50 club — at least 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season — Ohtani is compiling another impressive campaign this season. He entered the day top five in the majors in home runs (34), OPS (.990), slugging percentage (.610), among a myriad of other offensive stats. His 93 runs scored are first in the majors.

And this year, after spending all of last year rehabbing his arm, he’s back on the mound, too, where he has also established himself as one of the game’s best. He entered the day with a career 2.97 earned-run average and has finished as high as fourth in Cy Young Award voting in his career.

To be able to do both — and at such a high level — is almost unthinkable for other players.

Twins starter Chris Paddack, for example, threw a bullpen on Monday at Dodger Stadium. Then he came back in the clubhouse, changed, did some arm care and then had to run and lift. It was a full, packed day for the starter — one that, unlike Ohtani’s days, did not include taking swings.

“I can only imagine doing that, but also trying to get your body ready to go hit and be in the lineup to help his team contribute offensively,” Paddack said. “He has to stay disciplined with his routine and be consistent for 185 days. It’s pretty impressive. I can only imagine there’s one guy that can do it.”

And across other side of the field, there’s a great appreciation for what Ohtani is doing.

“He’s one of the best players in the game and probably historically,” third baseman Royce Lewis said. “Just to say I faced him is very exciting.”

Los Angeles Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman, center, is congratulated by teammates after hitting a single to score Shohei Ohtani to win a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox during the ninth inning Wednesday, July 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani ducks away from a pitch during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani celebrates in the locker room after their win against the New York Yankees in Game 5 to win the baseball World Series, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Minnesota state Sen. Bruce Anderson died at age 75 on Monday, the Senate Republican Caucus confirmed.

Anderson, a Republican from Buffalo representing District 29, served four terms in the Senate and nine terms in the House, a total of three decades and 11,159 days in the state Legislature, according to legislative records.

Undated courtesy photo from the 2025-26 legislative session of Sen. Bruce Anderson, R-Buffalo. (Courtesy of the Minnesota Senate)

Senate Republicans confirmed his passing Monday afternoon and said his family is asking for privacy at this time.

“I’m saddened to learn Senator Bruce Anderson passed unexpectedly today,” Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, said in a statement Monday. “Bruce was a dedicated public servant, loving family man, and dear friend to many at the Capitol and in Buffalo. We offer our condolences and prayers for comfort for the entire Anderson family.”

Anderson chaired the veterans committees in the House from 2011 to 2012 and again in the Senate from 2017 to 2020. He focused on issues including agriculture, energy, rural economic development, broadband access and public safety, Senate Republicans said in the release.

“I served with Bruce in both the House and Senate, and will fondly remember him for the way he approached this work and treated his colleagues,” Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, said in a statement Monday. “He was a decent, kind colleague, and a dedicated family man, and I feel fortunate to have known and worked with him.”

Before entering politics, Anderson served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War and in the Minnesota Air National Guard and U.S. Air Force Reserves. He was raised on a dairy farm in Minnesota and was the eldest of eight children, according to the legislative reference library.

“I’m deeply saddened by the passing of my friend and colleague, Senator Bruce Anderson,” Sen. Aric Putnam, DFL-St. Cloud, said in a statement Monday. “As a U.S. Navy veteran and a longtime member of the Minnesota Legislature, Bruce was a steady, principled voice in our work as elected officials. I had the honor of working with him on agriculture and veterans issues, where his dedication and humility stood out. His kindness and deep commitment to service will be missed by all of us in the Senate and by the people of Minnesota.”

Anderson’s death will prompt a special election to fill his seat in the Minnesota Senate, which will comprise 33 Democrats and 32 Republicans, pending the official resignation of Sen. Nicole Mitchell.

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