HASTINGS, Minn. — Criminal charges have been dropped against a 20-year-old Maple Grove man accused of throwing a young boy off a waterslide to the concrete 30 feet below, leaving the child badly injured.
In court documents filed in mid-May, acting Dakota County Attorney Kathryn Keena dismisses the charge of third-degree assault against Roman Alexander Adams, who has what is described by his attorney as "severe autism."
In January of 2019 Adams was ruled incompetent to stand trial in the case, and in her filings Keena says a recent competency exam found it is "exceedingly unlikely" he will ever be found competent due to his "pervasive, lifelong mental disorder."
"Accordingly, the complaint is dismissed in the interest of justice," Keena writes.
Adams was arrested in July of 2018 after witnesses said he picked up the 8-year-old victim and threw him off the top of a water slide at the Apple Valley Aquatic Center as they waited in line. The boy suffered a badly broken leg and other injuries in the 30-foot fall onto concrete, but did not suffer head or internal damage.
Investigators at the time said it appeared Adams did not recognize that what he did was wrong. According to his arrest warrant Adams, then 18 years old, told police that he was waiting in line to use the slide and that it was "taking a long time." He admitted to throwing the child from the platform, according to the criminal charges.
In a later interview, Adams told police the line was taking too long so he "pushed" the child over the railing and saw him fall.
Apple Valley Police Capt. Nick Francis called it a "sad story all around."
