Pastor pleads guilty in shooting of granddaughter

3:21 PM, Feb 25, 2013   |    comments
Image courtesy Rochester Post Bulletin
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ROCHESTER, Minn. - The Rochester pastor who says he mistakenly shot his granddaughter in December has pleaded guilty to the one felony count against him.

Stanley Wilkinson, 61, appeared in Olmsted County Court Monday morning. He was charged in January with one count of intentional discharge of a firearm that endangers safety.

Police responded to the Wilkinson home December 10 after a 911 call. Wilkinson told them he thought he heard someone breaking into his home, grabbed a weapon and fired it at a person he thought was breaking in.

As it turns out it was his granddaughter, who had left the home without permission. Prosecutors say Wilkinson fired two shots, one of them hitting his 16-year-old granddaughter in the neck.

The teen had surgery back in December, and Rochester police tell us her condition is improving.

Wilkinson will be sentenced April 15th.

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