A north Minneapolis man now charged with murder in connection to a fatal shooting earlier this month should have been serving time in prison, court records show, but was instead free due to sentencing departures on two prior violent crime convictions.
Arnold Benedict Cole, 37, has been charged with second-degree intentional murder and first-degree aggravated robbery for the fatal shooting that killed 36-year-old Christian Dior Byrd on July 16 on the 200 block of 27th Avenue North in the middle of the afternoon.
The charges filed in Hennepin County District Court describe that security footage showed Byrd riding a bicycle toward the security gate at a nearby business with Cole following him. The two interacted briefly before Byrd fell to the ground. Cole then patted down Byrd and appeared to dig through Byrd’s clothing while he was on the ground.
A witness later told police that the two men were arguing before Cole lifted a black bag wrapped around his hand and apparently shot Byrd. Cole then fled on foot but was located by police a short time later. Police also found a discarded drawstring bag on Washington Avenue with a gun inside and a hole in the bottom corner where the muzzle was pointed.
A $1 million bail amount was set by the judge in the fatal shooting case, but court records show Cole is being held without bail in connection to probation violations on two prior convictions.
Cole was charged in September 2020 with second-degree attempted murder for seriously injuring a man in a stabbing at a Metro Transit station near the Mall of America in Bloomington.
However, under the terms of a plea agreement under former Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman’s office, Cole was offered a stay-of-imposition on the felony sentence if he pleaded guilty to an amended charge of first-degree assault. Minnesota sentencing guidelines call for a minimum 86-month (7-year) sentence on a first-degree assault conviction. The murder charge was dismissed at sentencing in June 2021, and Cole was placed on probation for seven years by Judge William H. Koch.
As part of the DFL’s trifecta in the 2023/2024 legislative session, a measure passed into law limiting probation terms to a maximum of five years, affecting cases retroactively. Cole’s probation was amended in May 2025 to therefore end in 2026, instead of 2028, despite the fact that Cole had been charged in the interim in July 2023 in another felony case on a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Cole was eventually convicted in that case in December 2023 but again received a stay of imposition on the 5-year prison sentence in a downward departure from sentencing guidelines by Judge Daniel C. Moreno. Cole was instead placed on probation for a term of three years through Dec. 8, 2026.
A month prior to the fatal shooting, in June 2026, a probation violation hearing was triggered in both prior case convictions alleging that Cole had failed to submit a DNA specimen. He had a hearing date scheduled for Aug. 5, 2026, to answer to the probation violations.
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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.
