Twin Cities weekend crime recap

Crime Watch Minneapolis recaps the weekend in crime.

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Crime Watch MN
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The scene of a 4th St N downtown Minneapolis homicide. (Photo submitted to Crime Watch)

Minneapolis added three homicides over the weekend bringing the number for the year up to 52 for the city.

1. The first occurred early Thursday morning in a downtown shooting that also injured two others. An off-duty police officer working in the area of 1st Avenue North and 4th Street North aired about 1:35 a.m. that parties involved in a large fight were streaming out of a business and one party said they were going to get a gun, according to dispatch audio.

Within two minutes, both an on-duty and the off-duty officer reported the sound of shots fired. It quickly turned into an officer help call as officers aired that the shots were “automatic gunfire, possibly a switch.” Two shooting victims were initially found in the Class A Valet parking lot. A third victim was found several minutes later.

Two of the victims were reported to be males, ages approximately 37 and 44, each with multiple gunshot wounds. No information was aired at the time about the third victim. Police later updated that one of the three victims had died. Police said one person was arrested and two guns had been recovered. The victim who died was later identified as Chante Lamar Williams, 28, of St. Paul, marking the city’s 50th homicide.

Shots were fired again just hours later at the same site where a memorial was taking place for the victim who had died hours earlier. According to dispatch audio, just before 9:30 p.m., staff at a nearby business reported to 911 that a male was seen in the valet parking lot loading guns. Police who were already nearby converged in the area as shots were fired moments later; police again aired that it was automatic gunfire. No one was injured by gunfire in the Thursday night incident, but an officer was punched in the face by a fleeing suspect. Police later released information saying that four people had been arrested and another gun had been recovered. Information about the arrested parties was not immediately available.

2. The city’s 51st homicide occurred about the same time, 9:30 p.m. Thursday, on the city’s north side. Responders were dispatched to a report of a stabbing near 22nd Avenue North and North 4th Street. Police later updated that the male had died of his injuries. No arrests were made at the time. The victim was subsequently identified as Chad Domonique Johnson, 30, of Minneapolis.

3. Minneapolis marked its 52nd homicide just after 11 p.m. Friday on the 4100 block of Snelling Avenue. Police were dispatched to the area on a report of a shooting. They found a 19-year-old male shot in the chest and groin, according to dispatch audio. Police later updated that the male had died of his injuries. The victim has since been identified by the medical examiner as Sunrise Badbear Wade.

The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office reported on Thursday that a body had been recovered just after 7 a.m. from Como Lake, at Como Regional Park, in St. Paul. Ramsey County sheriff’s deputies responded to the lake on Wednesday about 2:30 a.m. on a welfare check of a person. Deputies along with St. Paul police officers and St. Paul fire fighters began to search the area and lake, which continued into the day Wednesday. The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Dive Team also responded. RCSO said the body is believed to be that of a 31-year-old male from St. Paul. The manner and cause of death will be determined by the Ramsey County Medical Examiner.

The Minneapolis Police Department on Thursday reported that over 3,000 vehicles have been stolen in the city so far this year, averaging about 13 per day. They said the nationwide trend of Kia and Hyundai vehicles being targets of auto theft has reached Minneapolis. MPD urged people to take precautions to avoid auto theft no matter what kind of vehicle they drive. One-third of vehicles are stolen because fobs or keys are left in the vehicle, they said. In addition to removing fobs and keys, MPD suggests using anti-theft devices like steering wheel locks, audible alarms and tracking apps or devices. They also warned people to park in well-lit areas and to have vehicle information, like plate number and VIN, stored in case the vehicle is stolen.

A Lyft driver in St. Paul was carjacked on Thursday about 9:40 p.m. The 38-year-old man was pulled from his vehicle and assaulted on the 1600 block of Maryland Avenue East. No arrests were made at the time, according to police.

Minneapolis police responded Thursday about 11:50 p.m. on report of a shooting on the 5500 block of Nicollet Avenue. Police arrived and found the gunshot victim inside an apartment, according to dispatch audio. Further audio indicated that an approximately 26-year-old male was transported to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the upper right chest. Further information about the circumstances or victim’s condition was not immediately available, and no public statement was issued by police about the incident.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office reported that they responded on a report of a domestic incident late Thursday night in Lake St. Croix Beach. They said they found a male hiding in the bushes, and he was taken into custody. Jail records show 53-year-old Jerome Edward Patrick was booked into custody. Patrick was subsequently charged with felony domestic assault. Patrick has a lengthy criminal history with at least 24 prior convictions, including several felonies for robbery, domestic assault, and felon in possession of a firearm. Court records show Patrick was conditionally released from custody on zero bail required after making his initial court appearance on Friday on the new felony charge.

The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office posted an update on Saturday about a multi-agency response to an incident in Osseo late Wednesday night at Sipe Park, located at 256 6th Avenue Southeast. The Osseo Police Department had earlier reported that members of the BCA, ATF, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, State Patrol, Maple Grove Police, and Champlin Police Department assisted as several people were taken into custody following a large party. The sheriff’s office stated that investigators learned that numerous individuals with affiliations to gangs were attending the gathering and were in possession of firearms. In addition, residents in the area had made several complaints about drugs and loud noises coming from those gathered at the park, they said. The HCSO said that law enforcement personnel participating in the “Greater Minneapolis Violent Crime Initiative” responded to the park to assist Osseo police and address the community’s concerns. Five people were arrested, and eight handguns were recovered, three of them with “switches” which render a firearm capable of firing automatically. The HCSO said the incident continues to be investigated and offered no further information about the arrested parties.

Edina police on Friday reported that a teenage boy had been identified and established as a suspect in an incident where a noose had been found hanging in the Edina Community Center, 5701 Normandale Road, on Tuesday. EPD had asked for the public’s help following the incident in which they said Edina Public Schools staff reported finding a noose harnessed to an implement on the building’s roof and hung in one of the courtyards. Police said that video surveillance showed a white teenage boy near the scene wearing a black Vans hoodie, dark shorts, tall socks, black slip-on canvas tennis shoes and a backpack who had arrived on foot. The incident continues to be investigated, police said, and declined to provide further information.

Maplewood police reported that officers had responded to a stabbing Friday about 1:44 p.m. at 315 Larpenteur Avenue East. They stated that a 30-year-old male had been stabbed multiple times and was transported to the hospital in critical condition. The suspect had fled the scene, but police said an adult male suspect was later identified and taken into custody and booked on probable cause second-degree assault. Maplewood police said the incident continues to be investigated to determine exactly what led up to the stabbing. Police said there are no other outstanding suspects.

Edina police announced on Friday that three male teens had been arrested in connection to a 48-hour crime spree in Edina and Minneapolis. They said the crime spree had started on Saturday, July 23, with a stolen Audi Q3 sport utility vehicle, taken from a business in the Southdale area of Edina. The car was then used in five purse-snatching incidents in Edina and Minneapolis, including three in the 50th and France area spanning both cities. On Monday, July 25, Edina Investigators worked with the Richfield Police Department to locate the stolen Audi Q3 and arrest the teenagers involved in the crime spree. The three boys have each been charged with robbery and theft. Both offenses are felonies, police said.

A teen suspect in a stolen vehicle crashed in St. Paul early Saturday morning just after midnight and had to be extricated from the vehicle. The incident played out during an episode of Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s “Live on Patrol” show. The vehicle, reportedly stolen earlier out of Maplewood, fled from another deputy. Fletcher and Deputy Patrick Scott attempted to intercept the vehicle with stop sticks at one point near Maryland Avenue East and Duluth Street, but the sticks missed the vehicle as it sped by. Fletcher estimated that the stolen Dodge Charger was traveling in excess of 140 mph on Maryland Avenue. The vehicle crashed several blocks later near Hazelwood Street. Fletcher said at the time that the stolen vehicle crashed into two other vehicles. Once extricated from the vehicle, the 16-year-old suspect driver was transported by EMS to a hospital and was reported to be “very uncooperative,” according to dispatch audio. At least one other male was transported to the hospital with unspecified injuries. Further information about the injured parties was not immediately available.

A woman was shot and killed in Brooklyn Center Sunday and police later arrested a male suspect in St. Louis Park. A statement released by BCPD on Monday said police responded about 1 p.m. to the 5400 block of 68th Avenue North on a report of a shooting. Officers located an adult female who was obviously deceased from an apparent gunshot wound. Police were able to develop suspect information after speaking to witnesses. A law enforcement alert was aired pertaining to the homicide suspect and the vehicle he was reported to be driving. The suspect was located several hours later in St. Louis Park and was taken into custody without incident. Police said multiple firearms were located in the suspect’s possession at the time of his arrest.

Jail records show Michael Isaac Klinger, 36, of Minneapolis is in custody on probable cause murder and a Department of Corrections hold. Klinger is currently on parole following a 2018 conviction on first-degree controlled substance and felon in possession of a firearm. Klinger has several felony convictions including two convictions on felon in possession of a firearm and drugs. Klinger was last released from prison in October 2021. Klinger remained in custody but had not been formally charged in the Brooklyn Center murder as of 2 p.m. on Monday.

Police in Columbia Heights responded Sunday about 6:45 p.m. to the 4600 block of Central Avenue Northeast on a report that a male had pulled on gun on several employees at McDonald’s over a refund dispute, according to dispatch audio. The suspect left the scene before police arrived but was described as a tan, white male with tattoos on his neck, face and arms, and was wearing a red jersey and shorts and carrying a backpack. A search perimeter was set up in the surrounding area, but the suspect was not immediately located by police. No public statement was released by the police department about the incident.

Around Minnesota and the region

The Chisago County Sheriff’s Office reported that K9 team member “Stryker” helped track and subdue one of two burglary suspects early Thursday morning. They reported that deputies responded to the Rush City area on a report of two individuals trying to force entry into a residence, and one suspect was reported to be armed with a gun. When officers arrived, one suspect decided to flee on foot while the other complied and was detained. The suspect who fled on foot was tracked by K9 Stryker through several back yards and roadway areas. The suspect was eventually located hiding behind vegetation and tucked into a corner of a house. The suspect refused to comply and was finally taken into custody by K9 Stryker and the tracking team. He was transported to the Chisago County Jail where he was booked under the charges of first-degree burglary, obstruction with force, fleeing police on foot, as well as a probation violation. Court records show Justin Joseph Tomasko, 19, of Rush City, was charged Friday with a felony count of attempted second-degree burglary and a misdemeanor count of fleeing police. Tomasko remained in custody as of noon Monday on a $10,000 conditional release bail amount. The criminal complaint stated that Tomasko’s accomplice was a juvenile male. No information was immediately available on whether that individual was charged.

Chisago County K9 “Stryker”/Chisago County Sheriff’s Office

Police in Rochester, Minn., fatally shot a robbery suspect wielding an axe just before 1 a.m. Saturday. In a statement later released, police said the suspect had entered a Rochester business Friday just before 11 p.m. armed with an axe and took cash and fled in a van. Police located the van at 12:44 a.m. Saturday and conducted a traffic stop on Highway 63 just south of the Highway 52 overpass. Preliminary reports indicate the suspect got out of the vehicle with an axe and charged toward the officer, and that’s when the officer shot the suspect. Efforts to save the suspect were unsuccessful, and he later died from his injuries. The officer involved in the shooting has been with Rochester Police Department just over a year and was an officer at another agency previously, the statement said. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) is leading an investigation into the shooting, which is standard operating procedure with any officer-involved shooting in the state.

Four people were injured, and a 17-year-old boy from Stillwater, Minn., died in a mass stabbing on the Apple River in St. Croix County, Wis., Saturday. The incident unfolded about 3:47 p.m. just upstream from the STH 35/64 bridge in Somerset Township, according to a statement from the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies, citizens and other responders arrived on scene and administered aid to the injured parties who had been tubing on the river before the stabbings occurred. Two of the victims were flown to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minn., and two were taken by ambulance to Regions. The fifth victim was transported to Lakeview Hospital in Stillwater where he was pronounced deceased.

Sheriff Scott Knudson said in a press conference that the other injured parties, three males and one female, all in their early 20s, suffered stab wounds to their torsos. The four victims were later reported to be hospitalized in stable condition with injuries ranging from serious to critical.

Nicolae Miu/St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office

Fifty-two-year-old Nicolae Miu, of Prior Lake, Minn., was located at Village Park, the tubing exit point, after fleeing the scene and was arrested. A motive for the attack hadn’t been specified as of Monday morning, but the Daily Mail reported after speaking to victims and witnesses that Miu had been asking a group of young males if they could get him the numbers of some younger women. That’s when another group saw the interaction and exited the river; a confrontation ensued. Miu was charged Monday afternoon with one count of first-degree intentional homicide and four counts of first-degree attempted intentional homicide.

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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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