Crime & Safety

Rosemount Driver Gets Jail Time For Running Over Pedestrian...Twice

Saddam Samaan was sentenced Tuesday to a year in jail.

A Rosemount man has been sentenced to a year in jail, after pleading guilty to charges of criminal vehicular operation. Saddam Samaan, 33, had faced a series of charges related to a Feb. 7 incident at Shenanigan’s Pub in Rosemount.

According to the criminal complaint, Samaan drove his vehicle onto the sidewalk, hitting the victim and dragging him across a parking lot as bystanders screamed for him to stop. The victim was eventually dislodged from underneath the vehicle when Samaan drove over a snowbank. Samaan then backed up over the victim with the rear tires of his vehicle before attempting to drive away from the scene.

When he was arrested, Samaan told police he had consumed “two or three” vodka sours and did not realize he had hit anyone. He also admitted that since he did not have a valid drivers license, he should not be driving.

Samaan had originally faced five separate charges from the incident, including driving while impaired and first-degree assault. Prosecutors dismissed four of the charges, leaving only the charge of criminal vehicular operation.

That charge could have sent Samaan to jail for up to five years. Instead, he received 365 days in jail and a stayed sentence of 23 months.

The 365-day number is significant, because Samaan is also facing deportation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Any sentence of 365 days or longer means Samaan will face increased sanctions from ICE and it will increase the likelihood he will be returned to his native Jordan.

This incident was not the first time Samaan had faced charges for driving while intoxicated. He had previously been convicted of driving under the influence in 2005, 2006 and 2008.


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