A Minneapolis man fled a shooting near North High School Stadium that killed one man and wounded another, escaping with two other masked suspects in an SUV that carried his paperwork and DNA, according to charges.
Markez Patton, 19, faces charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder with intent and attempted second-degree murder, court records show. The charges were filed Tuesday, August 25, in Hennepin County District Court.
According to the complaint, officers responded at about 5:20 p.m. on May 21 to reports of a shooting near the stadium in north Minneapolis. A 911 caller reported a man down on the ground and three suspects running away before leaving in a black SUV. Police soon learned a second victim had also been shot and traveled to a nearby gas station for help.
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Officers found the first victim on the ground with a gunshot wound to the torso on 18th Avenue North between Irving and Girard Avenue. Paramedics attempted lifesaving measures, but the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. A witness told police they saw a male in a black hooded sweatshirt approach the victim and fire multiple shots, describing the gun as possibly equipped with an auto-sear to fire fully automatic. The witness never saw the victim with a firearm.
Police found the second victim, who had been shot in the leg outside a residence. He recalled seeing young males running in front of his vehicle after he was shot but did not see who fired the gun. He was transported to a hospital for treatment.
Investigators recovered 12 discharged 9mm cartridge casings in the street near the shooting. No casings were found where the first victim lay, which the complaint says indicates neither victim fired a shot. Shortly after the shooting, officers responded to a crash at Plymouth Avenue North and Irving Avenue North, where a black Saturn Vue had been abandoned by suspects who fled on foot.
Inside the Saturn, police found four documents in Markez Patton’s name. Patton’s DNA profile was included in a four-person DNA mixture recovered from the steering wheel and gear shifter, according to the complaint.
Surveillance footage showed three masked suspects, two in black hooded sweatshirts and one in a light blue hoodie, walking toward the area of the shooting. Two of them, each with a handgun in hand, ran toward the victim’s location while the third stayed in the intersection. After the shooting, the suspects ran back to the Saturn Vue and fled, crashing the vehicle a short distance away before escaping on foot.
Phone records placed Patton in the area at the time of the homicide. On July 19, deputies stopped a vehicle with Patton inside. He attempted to flee and tossed a firearm, while four more guns were found in the vehicle. One of those firearms was later linked by ballistic testing to the cartridge casings recovered at the scene of the homicide.
The complaint notes that Patton and others involved are known to police as members of “1500” or “Wayne City,” a Minneapolis street gang tied to multiple shootings in recent months.
About This Charge
In Minnesota, homicide charges fall under three degrees: § 609.185 (first-degree murder), § 609.19 (second-degree murder) and § 609.195 (third-degree murder). First-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence; second-degree convictions are presumptive 12 to 40 years; third-degree up to 25 years. The Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission publishes guideline ranges that judges follow except where specific aggravating or mitigating factors are on the record.
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Jurisdictional Context
Hennepin County is Minnesota’s most populous jurisdiction. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office handles felony prosecutions across Minneapolis and 45 surrounding cities; the Fourth Judicial District presides over felony arraignments and trials at the Hennepin County Government Center in downtown Minneapolis.
