2 Men Sentenced for North Minneapolis Murder
BY MN CRIME STAFF
Two men have been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release for their roles in a North Minneapolis homicide.
Prosecutors alleged the December 2023 attack involved coordinated planning, surveillance and an execution-style shooting.
Dandre Franklin, 34, of Crystal, was sentenced Jan. 12 to life without parole after a jury found him guilty of aiding and abetting first-degree premeditated murder and second-degree murder.
Lavester Tramaine Breham, 36, of Sauk Village, Ill., was sentenced Jan. 15 on the same first-degree premeditated murder conviction and was sentenced to life without parole. A jury also found him guilty of second-degree murder.
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Both men were ordered to pay $128 in fines and give a DNA sample. Restitution was ordered to remain open for 30 days.
The convictions stem from a shooting reported around 6:35 p.m. on Dec. 19, 2023, on the 900 block of Newton Avenue North. According to the criminal complaint, Minneapolis police found 37-year-old Mikiyel Patton unresponsive in the front passenger seat of a Honda CR-V. He had suffered five gunshot wounds to the head and neck and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Surveillance video reviewed by investigators showed the driver of the CR-V arrive and park shortly before the shooting. Muzzle flashes were visible from inside the vehicle, followed by a second man running up, opening the passenger door and firing an additional shot before both suspects fled through an alley. Investigators recovered a .40-caliber cartridge casing outside the vehicle and multiple 10mm casings inside.
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Prosecutors alleged the killing was planned in advance. Investigators tied the CR-V and both defendants to an ongoing federal investigation and reviewed surveillance footage from a Brooklyn Park residence where Franklin and Breham were seen earlier that day wiping down the vehicle with cleaning products while wearing gloves. Location data from cell phones and a tracking device placed on the CR-V showed coordinated movements before and after the shooting, including travel to North Minneapolis and later to Prior Lake.
DNA analysis linked Franklin to the .40-caliber casing found outside the vehicle and linked Breham to a casing recovered inside the CR-V, evidence prosecutors said supported the state’s theory that both men played active roles in the killing.
