St. Cloud Man Pleads Guilty to Robbing Boy at Knifepoint

ST. CLOUD -- A St. Cloud man charged with robbing a 16-year-old boy at knifepoint has pleaded guilty. Nineteen-year-old Zakarie Farah Hassan pleaded guilty to 1st-degree aggravated robbery just as his jury trial was about to begin.

According to the complaint filed in Stearns County District Court, the boy was in River Bluffs Park last June when a car pulled up directly in front of him and Hassan got out and said the boy stole a cell phone from his friend.

Hassan pushed the boy to the ground at which time a group of men got out of the back seat and allegedly began punching the teen. The men allegedly demanded the boy give up his cell phone but he refused.

Records show Hassan then pulled out a knife and demanded the boy's belongings. The teen said he was robbed of his phone, his watch, and his earbuds.

The boy told police he recognized Hassan as a summer school classmate.

Hassan will be sentenced in May.