Twin Cities weekend crime recap

Both Minneapolis and St. Paul recorded shooting homicides over the weekend; a 20-year-old led State Patrol on a pursuit from north Minneapolis to Fridley Thursday night; stand-offs in Anoka and Eagan.

By
Crime Watch MN
-
Joshua Alexander Russ, 20, of Mounds View has been charged with a felony count of fleeing police in a motor vehicle after leading State Patrol on a pursuit from north Minneapolis to Fridley Thursday night. (MNDOT)

Both Minneapolis and St. Paul recorded shooting homicides over the weekend — two for St. Paul and one for Minneapolis.

In St. Paul, 23-year-old Jadonn Isaiah Taylor was shot and killed just before 10 a.m. Thursday outside Target at 1744 Suburban Avenue. Police said in a statement that Taylor was transported by private vehicle to a nearby fire station where medics rendered aid, but he died on site. Police found bullet casings and broken glass outside Target. No suspects had been arrested at the time. Court records show Taylor had been placed on an early prison release program in February following a 2021 conviction on felon in possession of a firearm – his second conviction on felon in possession. His 60-month sentence should have left him in prison until at least late 2024, and court records do not specify the details related to Taylor’s early release from prison. Court records also state that Taylor was a gang member at the time he was charged in that case in 2020.

St. Paul added another homicide over the weekend on Saturday after an adult female was found with apparent gunshot wounds on the 2200 block of Hillsdale Avenue; she was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said in a later statement that preliminary information indicated the killing was domestic related. St. Paul police identified the woman on Monday as Don-Shay Hardy, 38, of St. Paul, and said no arrests had been made yet.

The shootings were the 9th and 10th homicides for St. Paul this year.

In Minneapolis, a man was shot and killed early Sunday morning at a large gathering on the 1800 block of Russell Avenue North. Police said in a later statement that the shooting took place about 4:27 a.m. following what they believed to be a verbal altercation. There was a report of shots heard at the incident address which was aired to police about 3:10 a.m., over an hour prior to the shooting, according to dispatch audio. It’s unclear whether any squads responded to the report at the time. There was a Shotspotter activation for two rounds detected from the incident address just before the shooting was aired. No suspect details were aired at the time, and police said no arrests had been made.

Additionally, there were several other reported shootings in Minneapolis over the weekend including a 15-year-old who was shot Thursday about 5:30 p.m. at Marathon gas station on the 1100 block of West Broadway Avenue. The boy was privately transported to North Memorial Health Hospital, and police later told media that he sustained potentially life-threatening injuries. Police said the vehicle that dropped the boy at the hospital was a stolen vehicle. The vehicle was found about 30 minutes later abandoned at 39th and Lyndale Avenue North. No arrests had been made at the time.

Audio reported to be the gunshots from the incident was later posted online.

Metro Transit police responded to another shooting in Minneapolis just before 2 a.m. Friday at the Franklin Avenue LRT platform at 1808 East Franklin Avenue, according to dispatch audio. The victim was reported to be shot in the abdomen. Information about the victim’s condition was not immediately available, and no public information was released by Metro Transit police about the shooting.

Dispatch audio also indicated that a 13-year-old boy with a gunshot wound showed up at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis about 1:30 a.m. Saturday. About 30 minutes prior to the shooting report, police in downtown Minneapolis had aired that a vehicle was “rolling around shooting” near 10th and Marquette Avenue. It’s unknown if the two incidents were connected, and no public information was released by MPD on the shooting or the shots fired incident.

Another gunshot victim showed up at Fairview Riverside Hospital about 3 a.m. Saturday and claimed he was shot in Northeast Minneapolis, according to dispatch audio. Further information was not immediately available, and MPD made no public statement on the shooting

Another gunshot victim showed up at North Memorial hospital Sunday morning about 11 a.m., according to dispatch audio. A deputy at the hospital indicated that the shooting may have occurred in Minneapolis near West Broadway Avenue and Fremont Avenue North. No public information was released by MPD on the shooting.

The Plymouth Police Department reported on Thursday that two guns were recovered after two juveniles fled from a traffic stop around 5 p.m. near Rockford Road and Vicksburg Lane. One of the suspects was apprehended at the time, and police later discovered that one of the recovered handguns had been stolen during a burglary in Plymouth about a month ago. No information was made available on potential charges for the captured suspect.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced on Thursday that Governor Tim Walz had appointed him to take over prosecution of the two juveniles charged in the shooting murder of 23-year-old Zaria McKeever in her Brooklyn Park apartment last November.

The move comes after outrage from McKeever’s family and widespread criticism of Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty’s decision to offer plea deals to the alleged killers in juvenile court in exchange for their testimony, a departure from her predecessor who sought to certify the 15- and 17-year-old brothers as adults.

Ellison, who endorsed fellow progressive Moriarty during her campaign while running on a restorative justice platform, said, “the disposition of the juvenile shooter that Hennepin County has proposed in the case is disproportionate to the seriousness of the crime committed and falls far short of the family’s and community’s expectations for justice and safety.”

Moriarty responded in a posted statement criticizing Ellison’s “unprecedented intervention” in the case.

Read the full report from Alpha News.

Marlin Lavar White, 27, of Brooklyn Park was sentenced in federal court Thursday to 87 months in prison on a conviction for possessing a firearm as a felon. The charges stemmed from a Sept. 2021 incident where White fled from police in downtown Minneapolis and hid a handgun in a hotel planter, which was later recovered by police.

Marlin Lavar White (Sherburne County Jail)

White has prior convictions which prohibit him from possessing firearms including second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, second-degree aggravated robbery, and fifth-degree assault.

Unlike Minnesota state sentencing which only requires that offenders serve two-thirds of their sentence incarcerated, White will need to serve a minimum of 85% of his sentence in federal prison before release. White’s sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release.

Joshua Alexander Russ, 20, of Mounds View has been charged with a felony count of fleeing police in a motor vehicle after leading State Patrol on a pursuit from north Minneapolis to Fridley Thursday night.

Joshua Alexander Russ (Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office)

According to charges and dispatch audio at the time, a trooper attempted a traffic stop on a Crown Victoria about 9 p.m. on northbound I-94 near Dowling Avenue North for displaying a stolen license plate. The vehicle accelerated at a high rate of speed with the driver weaving through traffic at speeds in excess of 100 mph as the vehicle approached eastbound I-694. Fridley squads also responded to the area to try and deploy stop sticks.

The vehicle exited I-694 at University Avenue Northeast. Following a PIT maneuver to disable the vehicle, the two occupants were taken into custody at gunpoint.

MNDOT traffic cameras captured the end of the pursuit as it exited I-694 onto University Avenue Northeast. A squad can be seen performing a PIT maneuver to disable the vehicle and push it into the ditch where it ended up against a traffic sign. Troopers can be seen ordering the occupants out at gunpoint. One trooper appears to struggle with the driver while trying to get him into the squad.

Troopers found burnt tinfoil and a burnt straw in the driver’s door indicating narcotics use. Russ told the troopers that he swallowed drugs, and they observed he had bloodshot eyes and was lethargic. A warrant was obtained for a blood draw, and Russ complied. The results of the test were still pending at the time of the charge.

At the time of his arrest, Russ had an active Hennepin County warrant for robbery. Police also learned that the vehicle Russ was driving was stolen, in addition to the plates, but Russ does not appear to have been charged related to the stolen vehicle.

Russ has nine prior convictions, including four felony convictions in four counties since April 2022. All felony convictions were stayed at the time by judges in the four counties on charges of robbery, auto theft, receiving stolen property, and theft. Most recently, in February of this year Russ’s 15-month prison sentence for felony theft was stayed by Anoka County Judge Jenny Walker Jasper. Russ was instead given credit for 156 days spent in jail and was placed on probation for a term of three years.

Russ remained in custody in Hennepin County Jail on Monday and was scheduled to make his first court appearance on the new charge at 1:30 p.m. An initial bail amount was set at $20,000.

Authorities at St. Olaf College in Northfield sent an email on Thursday to families stating that a student had been arrested on suspicion of terroristic threats and had been prohibited from returning to campus. They said the student had been arrested in the Twin Cities following a search of a residence hall room and subsequent investigation.

Few other details were offered by the school, but the Northfield Police Department issued a statement on Friday naming the arrested party as 20-year-old Waylon Sieber Kurts. They stated that firearms magazines and “other items of concern” had been found during a search in Kurts’ room on campus, and that Kurts was suspended and left campus at that time.

Waylon Sieber Kurts (Rice County Sheriff’s Office)

Northfield police said the investigation continued and turned up other items “connected to potential acts of violence” in the residence hall room that led to the eventual arrest of Kurts in his vehicle in Hennepin County.

In a now deleted page on the school’s website, Kurts was indicated as a member of the school’s track and field team.

Kurts was charged Monday with several felonies just prior to publication including charges of conspiracy to commit second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, conspiracy to commit threats of violence, and making terroristic threats, as well as a misdemeanor charge involving planning a theft. Alpha News will follow up with more details on the charges this week.

Richard Shane Daily, II, 35, of St. Cloud was charged on Friday in Anoka County District Court following an hours-long stand-off in Anoka on Wednesday evening that police described at the time as a hostage situation with an armed suspect.

Richard Shane Daily (Anoka County Jail)

Dispatch audio from Wednesday indicated that police had a robbery suspect boxed in at an Anoka carwash about 5:30 p.m. on the 600 block of East River Road. Police aired at the time that the suspect had a gun in his hand and a female hostage in the vehicle. Information aired also indicated that Blaine and Minneapolis police officers were involved in the initial incident. A massive police response ensued including tactical vehicles.

Blaine police later released a statement saying the suspect in the stand-off had been wanted in a robbery incident at Walmart on Ball Road on Tuesday. They said the suspect had been shoplifting and when confronted by loss prevention staff, he pulled a gun and made threats.

Police were later able to identify the suspect as Daily, and several law enforcement agencies became involved in trying to track him down including the Anoka-Hennepin Narcotics and Violent Crime Task Force, Minneapolis police, the FBI, and State Patrol.

Blaine police said in their statement that Daily rammed several law enforcement vehicles in an attempt to escape, but was boxed in and unable to escape, that’s when the stand-off ensued. Daily was eventually taken into custody without injury, they said.

Daily has been charged with first-degree aggravated robbery and felon in possession of a firearm related to the Walmart case. Daily has at least seven prior felony convictions including violent crimes which make him ineligible to possess firearms.

He remained in custody on Monday on $400,000 bail. Records also show that Daily is also being held on other county warrants. Information was not immediately available on whether Daily will be facing additional charges for the Anoka stand-off incident.

A previously carjacked vehicle crashed in Minneapolis Friday evening near West 33rd Street and 1st Avenue South. A State Patrol aircraft had been tracking the vehicle while squads remained several blocks behind, according to dispatch audio at the time. At least two people were reported to have been taken into custody following the crash. Information on the arrested parties was not immediately available.

Eagan police were engaged in a stand-off for over twelve hours Friday to Saturday afternoon following a report of a fight between residents in the hallway of the Extended Stay Hotel near I-35E and Yankee Doodle Road.

After police arrived around 3:30 p.m. Friday, one of the involved parties refused to exit his room and subsequently made threats to shoot other tenants and police, according to dispatch audio during the incident. Dispatch audio also indicated that police tried to negotiate with the subject through family members as well as the person’s attorney by phone.

Negotiators and SWAT responded to the incident that stretched into the early morning hours Saturday. Eagan police eventually reported that the subject was taken into custody after 4 a.m., and they referred to the incident as a “mental health call.” The subject named during the incident did not appear on the jail roster over the weekend. Information was not immediately made available on the status of the subject or whether he would be facing charges.

The Anoka County Sheriff’s Office reported that a pedestrian was struck and killed in Spring Lake Park Saturday night.

The incident occurred about 10:53 p.m. near the intersection of Hwy. 47 and 81st Avenue Northeast. The sheriff said and adult female was traveling in a vehicle northbound on Hwy. 47 when she struck a male pedestrian in the road. The male was declared deceased at the scene.

The State Patrol crash report states that the victim was age 57 and describes that the vehicle was traveling in the left lane and struck the pedestrian who was “standing in the roadway.”

The driver remained on scene and was cooperating with the investigation, the sheriff said.

Savage police reported that they are investigating a disturbance Sunday that resulted in shots being fired in the 4400 block of 144th Street West near Kipling Avenue.

Police said that at approximately 6:21 p.m., officers responded to a complaint regarding a disturbance and someone screaming. Upon arrival, witnesses advised officers that approximately three vehicles were involved in a shooting incident near the intersection and that all three vehicles left the area immediately. No injuries were reported at the time.

Detectives and crime scene investigators responded to the scene and conducted a comprehensive investigation, gathering evidence, documenting the scene, and contacting involved individuals. During the preliminary phases of the investigation, at least two vehicles were located, they said.

The Savage Police Department encourages anyone with information regarding the investigation to contact the Savage Police Department at (952) 882-2608 or Minnesota Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477. Anonymous tips can also be submitted using the free “P3 Tips” smartphone app.

Around Minnesota

The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office reported that they responded to a report of a building fire Thursday afternoon on the 43900 block of 248th Avenue in Krain Township.

Upon arrival deputies found the residence to be fully engulfed and made contact with a female party identified as Jamie Morin, 40, of Wahpeton, North Dakota, who admitted to starting the fire. Morin was eventually arrested, and the residence was later determined to be a total loss.

Jamie Lynn Morin (Stearns County Jail)

Morin was charged Friday with a felony count of first-degree arson.

Information from the sheriff and from the charging document states that the residence was owned by a 52-year-old male who later told a deputy he had met Morin in North Dakota about a month ago and had brought her back to Minnesota where she had lived with him since then. He said that the relationship was going well “for the most part,” but they had verbal altercations at times.

The man said he left for work about 7:30 that morning, and Morin was still at the residence. The man said he learned about the fire from another party. He told police he wasn’t aware of any malfunctioning utilities and was not aware of any drug use by Morin, but admitted on occasion she exhibited some unusual behaviors.

A neighbor saw the fire and drove toward the residence and found Morin walking down the road. He asked her if she needed a ride. She eventually got in the vehicle and the neighbor drove her back to the home. The neighbor told police that Morin repeatedly stated she wasn’t pregnant and also said she was “pissed off.”

Morin told an investigator in a statement that she had “flipped out” and started a pile of clothes on fire in the laundry room with a propane torch. She proceeded to other rooms and ignited other items with the same torch. Investigators found a 20 lb. propane cylinder with hose nearby in the basement of the home as well as several other propane torch devices in other rooms of the home.

Morin was granted a public defender at her first court appearance on Friday and bail was set at $100,000. Her next court appearance is scheduled for April 27.

Jaquiel Joseph Ogima, 19, of Duluth was charged Thursday with felony counts of first-degree aggravated robbery and threats of violence after a cab driver was robbed at gunpoint about 4:30 a.m. that morning.

Jaquiel Joseph Ogima (St. Louis County Jail)

Charges say Ogima demanded money from the cab driver while holding a gun. The driver gave him money and Ogima fled. Ogima was located by police later that afternoon in the 100 block of East 3rd Street and was arrested without incident. A firearm was also located and seized during a search warrant.

Ogima remained in custody on Monday on $150,000 bail.

The Duluth Police Department reported that they responded to an attempted robbery of person report on Sunday morning in which the victim was assaulted with a bat and sustained a leg injury.

The incident occurred just before 11 a.m. at 2nd Avenue East and 1st Street. The victim told police they were walking when a male, later identified as 20-year-old Duluth resident Chase Dayton Covington, approached them, demanded money, and hit them with a bat. Officers reviewed surveillance video and investigated the incident. Covington was located and detained a short time later, and the bat was also located and seized. Covington was transported to the St. Louis County Jail on a pending charge of attempted first-degree aggravated robbery.

Court records show Covington has several other pending criminal cases on charges of robbery, receiving stolen property, trespassing, property damage, and obstructing the legal process. Court records indicate that bail has never been required in any of the cases despite Covington’s failure to appear at scheduled hearings several times.

A booking photo was not able to be obtained in time for this report.

– – –

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
Website

Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR