Myon Demarlo Burrell has been convicted on gun and drug charges four years after his life sentence for the murder of 11-year-old Tyesha Edwards was commuted by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison.
Burrell, 38, was convicted last week following a bench trial before Hennepin County Judge Mark Kappelhof in August on felony counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and fifth-degree drug possession.
The charges stemmed from an arrest in Robbinsdale in August 2023 during a traffic stop for erratic driving. During a subsequent search of Burrell’s vehicle, a Glock firearm with an extended magazine was located, along with various controlled substances.
Burrell’s attorney Paul Applebaum earlier raised concern in court over the legality of the original traffic stop, stating that officers lacked articulable suspicion to conduct the stop and “exceeded the proper scope” in their subsequent actions, according to court documents. However, Judge Peter Cahill denied Burrell’s motion to suppress evidence and ruled that the case could move forward. Applebaum has since indicated he will file an appeal based on the legality of the traffic stop.
Following his arrest and charges last fall, the Minnesota Freedom Fund (MFF) supplied $100,000 cash to bail Burrell out of jail.
While out on MFF’s bail, Burrell was arrested and charged in another drug case earlier this spring. Burrell was pulled over in a vehicle in May as part of an investigation by the Hennepin County Violent Offender Task Force (VOTF), based on a tip that Burrell was reported to be involved in drug sales and had been seen with a gun.
Inside Burrell’s vehicle, officers eventually found a pill in the driver’s door handle pocket that field tested positive for methamphetamine, as well as “chunks” of suspected controlled substances on the floor of the vehicle. Inside Burrell’s residence, officers located a suitcase containing $60,000 in cash along with a business card with Burrell’s name upon execution of a search warrant. The fifth-degree drug sale/possession charge in that case is still pending.
Burrell remains out of custody awaiting sentencing on the new conviction, which has not yet been scheduled. However, court records show Burrell is due in court on Sept. 23.
Burrell spent 18 years in prison following his conviction on first-degree murder for the benefit of a gang related to a 2002 shooting in which Edwards was killed by an errant bullet that entered her south Minneapolis home while she sat at the dining room table doing her homework. Burrell is prohibited from possessing firearms as a result of the murder conviction.
Activists, including Mary Moriarty, prior to being elected Hennepin County attorney, spent years advocating to have Burrell’s sentence commuted, citing his young age of 16 at the time of the crime. Moriarty spent decades as a public defender prior to being elected as the top prosecutor in Hennepin County. She even paid Burrell to work on her election campaign following his release from prison.
Following a review in December 2020 by the Minnesota Board of Pardons’ three-person panel that included Walz, Ellison, and former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, Walz and Ellison voted to commute Burrell’s sentence to 20 years and for him to be immediately released from prison. Gildea recused herself from the decision.
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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.
