Kayvon Julian Madison, 21, was charged with second-degree murder Wednesday after he allegedly killed a man in the parking lot of an Edina strip mall Saturday night.
The victim has been identified as 23-year-old Darien Jamal Roberson, who was attending a birthday celebration along with Madison and several others at a restaurant in an Edina strip mall on the 500 block of West 70th Street.
According to the charges:
Police were dispatched to the strip mall just after 9 p.m. on multiple reports of shots fired, including a report from Madison himself, who told dispatch he had just shot someone who “came at me.”
NEW:
KAYVON JULIAN BREAUN MADISON, 21, of south Minneapolis has been charged with 2nd degree murder in the Edina shooting homicide on Saturday.Charges say Madison was one of the people who reported the shooting and said he shot someone, and the person "came at me."
The… pic.twitter.com/EcC3CeCDZ7
— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) December 6, 2023
When police arrived, they found Madison standing near a handgun in a holster and Roberson lying on the ground. Roberson was pronounced dead at the scene and Madison was placed under arrest.
Police learned that a large group of about 13 people were at a restaurant to celebrate the birthday of a mutual friend. Both Roberson and Madison were at the dinner and knew each other but were not close friends. Witnesses told police that the two men likely had no contact with each other since 2021 when they had a disagreement about a friend of Roberson’s who died of an overdose.
Police reviewed surveillance video from the parking lot, which “does not support” Madison’s claim that Roberson came after him, the charges say.
The video shows a group of five males, including Madison and Roberson, leaving the restaurant after the dinner. The group took a few pictures together before Roberson began to leave.
At this point, Madison walked toward Roberson and appeared to say something. According to one witness, Madison made a comment about how Roberson’s friend would still be alive if he made better choices.
The two men then walked closer towards each other and were “engaged in a verbal dispute.” One witness said Roberson didn’t want to talk about it anymore, but Madison “kept pushing the issue.”
Madison eventually raised his hand and put his finger in Roberson’s face. Roberson then slapped Madison’s hand away, which prompted Madison to pull out his gun and shoot Roberson five times. Roberson was shot once in the left cheek, once in the left side of the neck, once in the back left of the neck, once in the left shoulder, and once in the central chest. Five discharged cartridge casings were found at the scene.
Madison remains in custody on $1 million bail.
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
