2 Apple Valley Men Charged with Aggravated Robbery

Two Apple Valley men have been charged with helping to steal a woman’s purse at a home in Apple Valley after an unidentified accomplice pulled a gun on a couple and threatened to shoot them.

Jason Michael Milligan, 26, and Garrett Jackson Nash, 18, are each charged with aggravated first-degree robbery, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $35,000 fine. The charge has a mandatory minimum penalty of three years in prison and a $10,500 fine.   

According to the criminal complaints, Apple Valley police were called to a home on Genesee Way just before 10:30 p.m. Oct. 25 after someone reported a stolen purse.

Police spoke with the victim and a man with her, who said he had made arrangements earlier in the evening with a man he knew, later identified as Nash, about selling a laptop computer.

The man said he was in the back of his home when someone knocked on the door. He said he thought it was Nash, but the man’s children let in two men, one of whom was later identified as Milligan.

The second unidentified man threatened to shoot the victims and displayed a gun by lifting up his shirt, according to the complaint. Milligan and the unknown man then stole the woman’s purse and fled, the victims told police.

Several hours later, a woman called police and said she had given Nash, Milligan and another man a ride to the same home in Apple Valley. She said Nash had contacted her and asked if she wanted to earn “gas money.”

The woman said she picked up Nash at about 9 p.m., and he told her that they were picking up some other people and then driving to pick up a laptop elsewhere in Apple Valley. He directed her to a home in St. Paul, where they picked up Milligan and the unknown man, described as being in his 40s and an uncle of either Nash’s or Milligan’s.

The group drove to the home in Apple Valley where the robbery occurred, and the woman said that she and Nash stayed in the car while Milligan and the other man went into the home. She said she drove back to St. Paul and dropped off Nash, Milligan and the older man.

Nash was interviewed Oct. 26 and admitted to police that he had offered the woman gas money and that they had driven to the victims’ home, according to the complaint. He said Milligan and the unidentified man, whom he knew as “E” or “C,” didn’t tell him anything about what had happened inside.

Milligan was arrested Oct. 31 and admitted going to the victims’ home and entering the house with the unidentified man, whom he knew as “Jim-Jim.” He said he stole a bag of methamphetamine from the male victim while he was in the house, but said there was no gun involved in the robbery, according to the complaints.

Police then went back to Nash’s parents’ home. Nash denied setting up the meeting between the three men, even though he arranged the ride, knew the location, introduced the unidentified man to Milligan, picked up the other two men and had spoken to the victim earlier about buying a laptop, the complaints say.

As Nash was arrested, he whispered to an officer that he could help him if the officer would promise Nash his “freedom,” according to the complaints. The officer told Nash to contact him from jail if he had any additional information to offer.

Milligan and Nash remain in the Dakota County Jail. Milligan is being held without bond, and Nash is being held on a $75,000 bond. Both men have omnibus hearings scheduled Nov. 27 in Dakota County District Court in Hastings.