Man Fatally Shot After Dispute In Mankato Over THC Cartridges

Nov 13

A man has been charged with murder after investigators say he shot and killed his ex-girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend during a confrontation in Mankato last weekend.

The criminal complaint accuses 23-year-old A’Quan Kaishaid Laurence Thornton of firing multiple rounds at the victim as the man drove away Sunday morning, striking him in the neck and causing his death.

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Officers were called around 9:24 a.m. on Nov 9 after a woman reported that Thornton had been threatened and her tires had been slashed at the apartment complex where she lives. While she was still on the phone with dispatch, several 911 callers reported gunfire and an injured person at a nearby business. Responding officers found the victim in the driver’s seat of a black vehicle with tinted windows. He had suffered a life-threatening gunshot wound to the neck and was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to the complaint, three people had been inside the victim’s vehicle. Two passengers told investigators they were driving around when the victim received a video call from Thornton. During that call, Thornton allegedly brandished a “Draco” style assault-rifle pistol, argued about money he believed the victim owed him and threatened to shoot him. The passengers said they drove to Holly Lane, where they saw Thornton waiting near a bush with the same gun visible in his hands.

They told officers the victim drove south on Holly Lane, made a u-turn and was immediately met with gunfire. One passenger said he heard at least three shots and possibly more. After the victim was hit, the front-seat passenger used his hand to push the gas pedal and drove the wounded man to the nearby business where officers found him. Both passengers identified Thornton as the shooter.

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Police also interviewed a resident who said she saw a dark grey car speeding up near the apartment complex at the same time she heard three or four gunshots. She looked outside and saw a man matching Thornton’s description walking back into the building while holding a gun.

Officers set up a perimeter around the complex. Thornton and his girlfriend walked out moments later with their hands up, and Thornton had a loaded black assault-rifle pistol tucked in his pants. Investigators later recovered doorbell-camera footage showing Thornton carrying the gun inside the complex at 9:22 a.m. and returning with it four minutes later.

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The woman told investigators she and Thornton had been in a relationship for about two years and said Thornton believed someone had damaged her car. She said she saw the victim — her ex-boyfriend — drive past and yell at her and noticed her tires had been slashed. She said Thornton came back inside holding a large gun and claimed the victim had tried to run him over and that “he might have shot him.” The woman admitted she collected shell casings at Thornton’s direction and handed them to him but denied hearing gunfire.

Thornton initially told investigators he fired “warning shots,” first saying he did not know where they went before later claiming he shot at the ground, then at the hood, then at the grill of the victim’s vehicle. He also said the dispute involved THC cartridges and that he did not intend to pay the victim for them.

Medical examiners reported the bullet entered the right side of the victim’s neck and exited through the left side of his back on a downward trajectory consistent with the accounts provided by the passengers.

Thornton has been charged with second-degree intentional murder. He faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted. Authorities say the investigation remains active.

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