On or about May 4, 2020, at approximately 11:25 P.M., officers responded to a drive-by shooting near the intersection of 39th Street East and Cedar Avenue South in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota. There, officers observed Victim 1, an adult female, in the driver’s seat of a Ford Mustang that had crashed into a tree. Victim 1 was slumped over the steering wheel with an obvious gunshot wound to her head. Officers encountered Victim 2, an adult male, who stated Victim 1 was his girlfriend and that he had been in the passenger seat when Victim 1 was shot.
Victim 2 did not know who shot at their vehicle. Medical personnel transported Victim 1 to the hospital, but she later died from her injuries. Officers obtained surveillance footage from the gas station at [ADDRESS REDACTED], approximately 1.2 miles north of the crime scene. The footage shows the victims’ Ford Mustang parked in the lot as victims go in the store. A tan Chevy Suburban parks nearby, and its occupants do not get out. When the Mustang leaves the lot, the Suburban immediately follows.
Approximately 1.4 miles east of the crime scene, officers located an abandoned tan Chevy Suburban with bullet holes in the hood, consistent with the driver of the vehicle having fired over the hood and accidentally struck their own vehicle. Officers also located 32 discharged cartridge cases (DCCs) on scene, all 9mm. On May 19, 2020, officers recovered two Glock 9mm handguns from a compost bin approximately eight blocks from the scene of the shooting. Firearms testing revealed that the two firearms, combined, fired the 32 DCCs found at the scene.
DNA testing of swabs from the Suburban’s steering wheel and interior driver’s side door each revealed a mixture of DNA. The inclusion of MALCOM CHAN JOHNSON's (previously charged in 27-CR-26-5432) DNA profile in each mixture is supported by a STRMIX statistical calculation of 100 billion. Swabs from other items in the abandoned Suburban also revealed a mixtures including Defendant NAMIRILOVE LAQUNDAS TANNER’s. DNA testing of swabs from the two firearms each revealed mixtures including NAMIRI TANNER. On March 20, 2025, officers interviewed Witness X, a known adult male.
Witness X stated that the day after the shooting, JOHNSON confessed to the shooting. Witness X provided corroborating details, including that JOHNSON had a known gang feud with Victim 2. On February 17, 2026, officers interviewed NAMIRI TANNER in a federal prison in Kentucky. TANNER confessed, indicated that he was firing a gun at the Mustang from the passenger seat of the suburban, and that JOHNSON was shooting at the Mustang from the driver’s seat of the Suburban, firing over the hood of the Suburban as he did so.
TANNER indicated that they abandoned the Suburban then fled and ditched the guns in a trash can. On March 4, 2026, officers interviewed JOHNSON. In a post-Miranda statement, JOHNSON eventually 3 27-CR-26-8666 Filed in District Court State of Minnesota 4/8/2026 confessed to driving the Suburban and firing a 9mm. JOHNSON admitted that he thought Victim 2 was in the Mustang but did not know there was also a female in the car and that he did not mean to kill her. Defendant is currently in federal custody.
