Man Sentenced To Prison After Killing Eagan Couple

EAGAN, MN — A man will serve more than 47 years in prison for his role in the death of an Eagan couple last year. Jonna Kojo Armartey, 38, formerly of Eagan, was sentenced Friday to 567 months in prison in connection with deliberately driving his vehicle into 58-year-old Diane Peterson and 74-year-old Roger Peterson on June 28, 2018.

The incident happened while the two were walking together in Eagan.

Armartey pled guilty Aug. 5, 2018 to two counts of murder. As part of the sentence, Armartey was also ordered to pay restitution, according to a news release.

Shortly before 10 p.m. on June 28, Eagan police officers were dispatched to a parking lot on a report of two people in need of medical attention. When officers arrived, they found both Diane and Roger Peterson struggling to breathe.

Both were transported to Regions Hospital where they were pronounced dead.

The injuries were consistent with blunt force trauma. Witnesses at the scene provided statements that the Petersons had been struck by a silver van, which sped away from the scene.

A short time later, officers responded to a report that a minivan matching this description was in a parking lot of a restaurant less than one mile from the initial scene.

Police found a Dodge Caravan with front-end damage and the majority of the windshield was cracked. Diane Peterson’s cell phone was found wedged under the passenger side windshield wiper.

It was learned that the registered owner of the minivan had sold it to Armartey months earlier. In an interview, Armartey stated he saw the Petersons and that they "freaked him out" so he ran them over "going fast and hit them hard."

"We are pleased to have brought Jonna Armartey to justice for causing this senseless and violent crime that tragically killed two individuals in our community," Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom said in a statement.

"On behalf of everyone involved in the investigation and prosecution of this crime, I wish to extend our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Diane and Roger Peterson for their great loss."

Backstrom praised Chief Deputy Kathy Keena, who prosecuted the case, and thanked the Eagan Police Department, the Minnesota State Patrol and the Dakota County Sheriff’s Office for their thorough investigation of this case.