Twin Cities weekend crime incident recap

A six-year-old boy was found shot up to nine times and stuffed in the trunk of a vehicle that was driving on a flat tire with a shattered rear window.

By
Crime Watch MN
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Julissa Angelica Genrich Thaler / Hennepin County Jail

St. Paul began the weekend with three separate shooting homicides within hours of each other.

The first took place about 10:30 p.m. Thursday on the 200 block of Maryland Avenue West in the city’s North End neighborhood. Police arrived at the scene and found a male lying in the intersection and began CPR. Medics arrived and pronounced the male deceased. Police are searching for witnesses and no suspects had been arrested as of Friday morning.

Police say the second shooting was domestic related and occurred about 12:15 a.m. in a vehicle near the intersection of Sherburne Avenue and North Mackubin Street in the Frogtown neighborhood. A woman called 911 and reported a man had been shot. Police arrived and found a man in his 30s suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. Officers secured the scene, rendered aid and called for Saint Paul Fire medics, who transported the victim to Regions Hospital where he died about three hours later. Police said that Kyra Love, 28, was taken into custody and booked into the Ramsey County jail on suspicion of aggravated assault before the man died. She’s currently being held as investigators with the police department’s homicide unit begin to work the case to determine exactly what led to the shooting.

The third occurred around 4:19 a.m. in downtown near 5th Street and Cedar Street on the Green Line light rail platform. A man was pronounced deceased at the scene. Metro Transit police said they were looking for a suspect but released few other details.

The three homicides were numbers 16, 17, and 18 for St. Paul this year.

Minneapolis police responded just after midnight Friday to several Shotspotter activations near the 4600 block of Lyndale Avenue North. The dispatcher stated that 18 rounds had been fired, possibly from two guns. One officer replied that Shotspotter was registering the shots as “full auto.” The dispatcher stated that a heated argument was also reported at a tavern nearby following a vehicle crash that could be related. Police arrived and found multiple casings. No injuries were immediately reported. An audio clip purported to be the shots from the incident was posted online which appeared to indicate automatic gunfire.

Police in downtown Minneapolis were requested to assist medics at the Gay 90s bar at 408 Hennepin Avenue about 12:30 a.m. Friday for crowd control, according to police dispatch audio. CPR was reportedly being performed on a person inside the bar due to a drug overdose where Narcan had been administered. Sounds of a chaotic scene could be heard in the communications between police and the dispatcher, and a police help call was briefly toned as reponders requested more squads to the site. Further dispatch audio stated the male patient had been transported to the hospital in an unresponsive condition following a suspected drug overdose. Further information about the patient’s condition is not known, and no official statement was released by police about the incident.

The body of a six-year-old child was found in the trunk of a vehicle in Mound early Friday morning after Orono police responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle that was driving on a rim and had the back window shattered. Police said in a statement that two people had been arrested including the boy’s mother, Julissa Angelica Genrich Thaler (top photo). The boy has since been identified as Eli Hart. Details are still coming to light, but reports indicate that there had been a custody struggle between Thaler and Eli’s father. And despite the concerns of social workers about Thaler’s mental health, criminal history and living situation, a judge restored full custody to Thaler just two weeks ago.

Eli Hart / GoFundMe

Thaler, 28, was charged Monday in Hennepin County with second-degree murder, with intent. Charges say police found a shotgun shell and other casings in Thaler’s vehicle and that preliminary autopsy findings revealed that the child was shot multiple times, possibly up to nine times, including shots to the torso and head.

A high-risk warrant was executed early Friday morning in Northeast Minneapolis on the 30 block of 16th Avenue Northeast at a residence near the Mississippi river. Photos relayed to Crime Watch Minneapolis showed FBI agents present along with a SWAT vehicle. Jail records show Marque Deandre Flax, 32, was booked into custody following the incident on probable cause weapons and several warrants. On Monday morning Flax was charged with felon in possession of a firearm. Charges say Flax shot another person in Minneapolis on May 15 during which he was also shot in the leg but did not seek treatment. Flax was found to have a gunshot wound to the leg when he exited the residence during the warrant search. Inside the residence, police found handguns and an AR-15 rifle. Flax has a prior felony conviction on terroristic threats prohibiting him from possessing firearms. Flax also has several other pending cases including another case in Hennepin County in which he’s charged with two counts of felon in possession of a firearm. Bail is set at $150,000 on the new charge and Flax remained in custody as of Monday morning.

Marque Deandre Flax / Anoka County Jail warrant mugshot

Woodbury police assisted US Marshals on Friday morning in apprehending a fugitive wanted out of Shawnee County, Kansas, on felony charges of rape, felony kidnapping, robbery and burglary. The suspect, Pernell Adam Mack Jr., 38 had barricaded himself inside a residence on Beechwood Lane. Mack remains in custody in Washington County Jail awaiting extradition.

The Anoka County Sheriff’s Office on Friday released squad video of a Coon Rapids police pursuit that was terminated on Tuesday after the suspect vehicle fled at a high rate of speed from the officer. The suspect vehicle was found a short time later crashed at Main Street and Ferry Street in Anoka after driving into oncoming traffic. The driver of the suspect vehicle, subsequently identified as Brian Edward Harper, 30 of St. Paul, suffered fatal injuries in the crash. The passenger, identified as Jermain Ramone Beasley, 32, of St. Cloud was hospitalized with unspecified injuries. Harper had been a wanted fugitive at the time of the crash. The driver of the vehicle the suspects struck received only minor injuries and was not hospitalized at the time.

Anoka crash aftermath at Main Street and Ferry Street / MNDOT traffic camera image

Brooklyn Park police reported Friday that they responded to a weapons call just after 9 p.m. on the 9500 block of Scott Circle North. 911 callers reported that males outside were arguing and one of them was pointing a gun. Upon the arrival of the first officer, he located two males in the area who appeared to be involved. As the officer approached, he saw one of the males toss something and then they took off running on foot. Police found that the tossed item was a shotgun. A perimeter was set up and a Crystal Police K-9 unit arrived in an attempt to locate the suspects. Officers were unable to locate the suspects at the time and the case remains under investigation, they said.

Minneapolis police responded to a shooting Friday just before 9:30 p.m. on the 800 block of Elwood Avenue North in what was later updated to a robbery and carjacking. The 53-year-old male victim had been shot several times in his chest, abdomen, arm and head, according to dispatch audio at the time. The suspects, reported to be two males and a female, fled from the scene before police arrived. A cell phone taken in the robbery was eventually tracked by police to an address in St. Paul, but it’s unclear at this time whether any suspects were arrested at the address. No official statement was released by police about the incident.

The University of Minnesota Public Safety Department released a notice about three assaults that occurred on Friday night on the 1700 block of University Avenue Southeast, on Fraternity Row Historical District. In one incident, it was reported that five people were fighting with 30 others surrounding them and blocking traffic.

A brief video clip reported to be from one of the assaults was posted online that showed a person on the ground and several others taking turns kicking and stomping the person.

(Language warning)

The address of the multi-unit student co-op housing residence has been the subject of several police calls recently, and concerns have been raised in a local U of M parents’ group about the building’s management.

Another video surfaced online showing a purported carjacking Friday night also outside the same address.

UMPD put out another alert about a robbery at the address early Sunday morning.

Regent Darrin Rosha responded on Twitter to an inquiry by another user about the incidents and blamed “low resources” in the city for the inability to address the repeated incidents.

Minneapolis police responded at midnight Saturday to a report of a shooting on the 800 block of Thomas Avenue North. The victim was reported to be shot in the leg and officers applied a tourniquet upon arrival, according to police dispatch audio. Further audio indicated the 33-year-old male had been transported to the hospital with a possible arterial bleed. No further information about the victim’s condition was immediately available and no official statement was released by police about the shooting.

Downtown Minneapolis police responded before 1 a.m. Saturday to a report of a stabbing inside Cowboy Jacks bar at 126 North 5th Street, according to police dispatch audio. When police arrived, they indicated that the victim had a minor stab wound to the shoulder and had been stabbed by another bar patron. Audio indicated a possible suspect was detained but it’s unclear if an arrest was made. No information was released by police about the incident.

Brooklyn Park police responded Saturday about 2:35 p.m. to a report of an assault with weapon on the 7200 block of 76th Avenue North. Police arrived and rendered first aid to the victim and arrested the suspect. Information on the arrested party was not immediately available.

Minneapolis police responded Saturday just before 6 p.m. to a report of a shooting near East Franklin Avenue and Chicago Avenue, according to police dispatch audio. Further audio indicated that a 27-year-old male had been shot in both feet.

A clip of audio was posted online purported to be the gunshots from the shooting.

Police later stopped a vehicle near East 29th Street and 5th Avenue South that matched the suspect vehicle in the shooting and reportedly took a suspect into custody. Police stated ammunition was found in the vehicle at the time. Information on the arrested party was not immediately available and no official statement was released by police about the shooting.

Police in downtown Minneapolis Saturday reported shots being fired about 7:10 p.m. outside the State Theater on the 800 block of Hennepin Avenue, according to police dispatch audio. Witnesses told police that a male in a white hoodie was seen firing shots as patrons entered the theater for the Amy Grant concert.

A gunshot victim showed up at HCMC several minutes later. It’s not clear whether it was related to the shots fired incident, and police did not release an official statement on the shots fired or the shooting victim.

St. Paul police assisted Metro Transit police in apprehending a homicide suspect Saturday before 8 p.m. in the area of Sherburne Avenue and Arundle Street, according to a Facebook group post by Ramsey County Deputy Patrick Scott. Booking records show that Shawn Michael Tillman, 33, a Level 3 sex offender, was taken into custody at the location and remains in custody on a hold for murder.

Shawn Michael Tillman / Minnesota Dept. of Corrections

Brooklyn Park police responded Saturday about 8:45 p.m. to a report of a shooting on the 5600 block of 69th Avenue North. Arriving officers located a male who had been shot several times and was not cooperative with officers. Medical aid was provided by the officers, and he was transported to an area hospital by ambulance where he was listed in stable condition. Officers were advised by a witness that the possible suspect left in a vehicle. Officers searched the area and were unable to locate any suspects at the time.

St. Paul police responded Saturday about 10:48 p.m. to a report of a shooting on the 900 block of St. Albans Street North. A male was reportedly shot twice in the leg, according to police dispatch audio. No official statement was made available by police about the victim’s condition or the shooting.

Minneapolis police responded about 2 a.m. Sunday to a report of a shooting on the 2200 block of Ilion Avenue North (originally aired on as Irving Avenue North), according to police dispatch audio. Police released a statement later Sunday stating that the male in his 30s had died as a result of the shooting, which they called the city’s 35th homicide this year. No arrests had been made at the time.

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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

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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.

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