Ex-Minneapolis firefighter who fired gun while attacking Gophers football alum gets jail time

Jail time already served is the sentence for a former firefighter who fired a handgun and attacked a former Minnesota Gophers football star in the Minneapolis neighborhood where they both lived.

Eric Matthew Jagers, 55, was sentenced Monday in Hennepin County District Court to a nearly yearlong term after pleading guilty to second-degree assault in connection with the encounter that occurred in April 2023 in the alley behind the 4000 block of 17th Avenue S.

Judge Shereen Askalani set aside a possible three-year sentence and instead gave Jagers credit for the 334 days he spent in jail, meaning he has no further time to serve. He also was fined $378.

Jagers worked for the Fire Department for 24 years until his retirement in February 2023.

His victim, 45-year-old Tellis Redmon, was a standout running back for Minnesota from 1999 to 2001.

Redmon escaped without physical injury despite the gun being fired next to his head as the two fought for the weapon, police said.

At one point during the assault, Jagers called Redmon a racial epithet, according to Redmon and another witness, the criminal complaint said. The charges noted that when questioned by police, Jagers said his anger “went sideways” when he saw Redmon drive over a board near his garage and demanded that the board be picked up.