Maple Grove teen charged in Gustavus Adolphus carjacking

A Maple Grove teenager threatened to shoot a Gustavus Adolphus College student in the head before stealing her car from the campus early Saturday morning, according to new criminal charges.

Prosecutors on Wednesday charged 18-year-old Tayvius S. Martin with two counts of aggravated robbery, one count of simple robbery and theft of a motor vehicle in connection with the incident.

Charlie Potts, the dean of students at the college in St. Peter, said in an email Monday that Martin is "not affiliated with the Gustavus community".

In a news release following the incident, the St. Peter Police Department said officers responded to a carjacking involving a suspect who appeared to be armed with a "rifle-style" firearm.

However, criminal charges indicate what appeared to be an AR-style rifle during the incident was possibly an airsoft gun.

There's no mention of investigators recovering a firearm associated with Martin, although the complaint notes his parents confirmed he owns an AR-style airsoft rifle.

According to the criminal complaint, Martin was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and black ski mask when he approached a student who'd just parked her car in a campus parking lot around 2:45 a.m. Saturday.

The student told police she saw the suspect holding a gun in his hands and ordered her to give him her keys or he'd "shoot her in the head," charges state.

The student complied and then ran to her dormitory, where she called police, the complaint details. Her vehicle was missing and Martin was nowhere to be found when officers arrived.

Martin was arrested Sunday when the Plymouth Police Department located the stolen vehicle and found Martin and another man inside.

The Star Tribune reports Martin has been charged in juvenile court with three other crimes - including auto theft and property damage - since February.