Arrest made in drive-by shooting incident in Rollingstone

A Winona man is arrested on a charge of firing a handgun at homes in Rollingstone late last month.

Damein Lamont Smith, Jr., 30, was taken into custody on Monday.

He appeared in Winona County Court on Tuesday morning.

A probable cause statement provided details on what the Winona County Sheriff’s Office said happened the night of May 24 when three homes were hit by gunfire.

In one case, three people were in one of the homes when the shooting happened around 11:30 p.m. From the statement:

“Victim told Deputies that he was home with his wife and two children. Victim was in his
living room house watching television, when he heard three gunshots. Victim said a
bullet entered the living room, knocking plaster dust off the wall. Victim looked outside
but was unable to see the vehicle where the shots were fired. No one inside the house
was struck by the bullets.”

Deputies later found bullet casings in the road in front of the home.

The home next to where the victim live was struck by gunfire.

A bullet also went through a garage door of a nearby home after the people inside hear two gunshots.

The complaint goes on to say that around the time of the shootings, a party was ending at the Rollingstone Community Center.

Using surveillance videos from the area, they got a description of the vehicle believed used in the shootings. They were able to connect it to a person who was at the party.

A few days later, the statement said investigators talked to a person who was in the vehicle and saw Smith fire the gun towards houses.

Based on the evidence, the probable cause statement said they arrested Smith who then talked to investigators.

He admitted being in the vehicle when the shootings occurred. It was his gun that was used to shoot at the homes.

“Defendant (Smith) denied shooting the gun and claimed a person he would not identify did the shooting,” the statement reads.

Judge Dwight Luhmann set bond at $100,000 with no conditions and at $25,000 with conditions. He’s currently in the Winona County Jail as of Tuesday afternoon according to online jail records.

Smith returns to court on June 16.

UPDATE: Second arrest made in Rollingstone drive-by shootings