An man with a history of mental health issues admitted Monday to intentionally running over and killing an Eagan couple while they were out on a walk last summer.
Jonna Kojo Armartey, 37, formerly of Eagan, pleaded guilty to two charges of second-degree murder for killing Diane Peterson, 58, and Roger Peterson, 74, with his minivan in an Eagan parking lot on June 28, 2018. He will be sentenced Oct. 11 in Dakota County District Court.
According to the criminal complaint, Armartey had said the Petersons "freaked him out," and that he "was going fast and hit them hard." He didn't know the couple personally, the complaint said.
Armartey fled the scene after hitting the pair, who were left struggling to breathe in a strip-mall parking lot on Hwy. 13. They were later pronounced dead at Regions Hospital in St. Paul.
A witness who was listening to the police scanner recognized Armartey's Dodge Caravan, which he had abandoned less than a mile away near a restaurant. The minivan had a cracked windshield and front end damage and Diane Peterson's cellphone was stuck under a windshield wiper, the complaint said.
Hours later, Armartey was arrested in Apple Valley. He was on probation for three felony assault convictions in Dakota County at the time of the crash.
Armartey had been civilly committed from June 2016 to December 2017 after a psychiatrist concluded that he wasn't competent to move forward with court proceedings. After a year and a half at the state hospital in St. Peter, he was declared competent.
Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom said he believes that Armartey's attorney will bring up his client's mental state during sentencing in October. Erin
