A Brooklyn Center man is facing a charge of attempted murder after authorities say he shot a woman when she refused to provide sex after he offered her a ride from a Minneapolis bus stop, and court records indicate that he could be released on zero bail.
The criminal complaint accuses Mantu Manier Craven, 41, of shooting the woman several times after he drove her to a park near the Coon Rapids dam in the early morning hours of Sept. 12.
The charges filed in Anoka County on Friday state that on Sept. 12 at approximately 4:00 a.m., the Minnesota State Patrol responded to a report of a woman running into traffic on Hwy. 610 and East River Road in the City of Coon Rapids, Minnesota.
When Troopers found the woman in the roadway, she was naked from the waist down and had three gunshot wounds to her abdomen and leg. She was immediately transported to the hospital for surgery.
The following day, the victim was able to provide a statement to investigators saying that a man she did not know offered her a ride while she was waiting for a bus at the intersection of East Franklin Avenue and Chicago Avenue South at about 1:00 a.m. that morning.
She told police that the two stopped at a nearby ATM so the male could retrieve some money. The victim said the male told her he was going to drive to a friend’s house in Coon Rapids. The male instead drove to a park in Coon Rapids and parked the car and offered the woman $40 for sex, the complaint states.
The male exited the vehicle and approached the passenger side. The victim told police that she locked the door and begged the man to take her home. He was able to open the door and ordered her out at gunpoint. The complaint states that he pulled her out, shoved her to the ground and fired three or four shots at her.
After shooting her, the male walked back to the vehicle but turned toward her as she started to move. The victim said she pretended to be on the phone calling for help and the suspect fled. After he left, the woman ran through the woods to the highway.
Authorities subsequently checked the area of Cenaiko Lake in the Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park area and found one spent shell casing where the victim stated the shooting occurred.
Investigators checked surveillance video from the Woodlands National Bank ATM located near the Franklin Avenue bus stop, which showed that a male and the victim approached the ATM at approximately 2:18 a.m. when the male completed a transaction.
Bank records accessed by investigators revealed that the bank card used belonged to a person with the initials of “D.C.,” but that the description of D.C. did not match the person in the surveillance video or the description the victim gave to police. However, the description and surveillance image did match the brother of D.C., who was then identified as Craven, the complaint states.
The complaint also states that a blue Dodge Dart was captured on surveillance video in a parking lot near the ATM, and that Craven is the registered owner of a blue Dodge Dart.
Further investigation revealed that Craven ordered an Uber ride just after 7:00 a.m. on Sept. 12 and was picked up at the intersection of 26th Avenue North and Emerson Avenue North in Minneapolis. Just before 7:30 a.m., he was dropped off at an address on the 5900 block of Colfax Avenue North in the city of Brooklyn Center. He used the same financial card that was used earlier at the Woodlands bank to pay for the Uber ride, the complaint said.
One minute after being dropped off by the Uber, Craven called police to report that his Dodge Dart had been stolen some time after 9:00 p.m. the prior evening of Sept. 11. The Dodge Dart was later located a few blocks from the location of the Uber pickup and was impounded around 11:30 p.m. on Sept. 12.
Investigators checked phone records and found that Craven’s phone location put him at all three locations of the Woodlands bank, the Coon Rapids dam and the site of the Uber pickup at the times outlined in the complaint.
The charges say that one bullet was lodged in the victim’s abdomen and could not be safely removed, and the other bullet caused a “through and through” injury to her right leg.
Craven has been charged with felony counts of second-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault involving great bodily harm.
Craven made an initial court appearance on Friday where he was granted a public defender. Court records indicate that Craven could be conditionally released on zero bail, or $10,000 without conditions by Judge Dyanna L. Street. At this time, Craven remains in custody and is scheduled to make his next court appearance on Oct. 28.
Update: Alpha News has received clarification from the Anoka County Attorney’s Office that the information contained in the court record regarding bail amounts for Craven is incorrect. The correct bail amounts are $1,000,000 unconditional and $750,000 conditional release.
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Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
Crime Watch MN
Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
