Richfield Man Gets 5 Years for Shooting at Truck, Killing Woman

Aug 8

A Richfield man has been sentenced to five years in prison for firing a gun at a fleeing pickup truck and killing a woman in the early morning hours last December.

Luke Joshua Cain, 30, pleaded guilty in May to second-degree unintentional murder while committing a felony and was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison.

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Police began investigating on Dec. 6, 2024, after a 911 caller reported finding an unresponsive woman inside a gray Ford F-150 parked near 4500 Hiawatha Avenue in Minneapolis. The woman, who had been shot once in the back of the head, was transported to the hospital but did not survive.

Officers tracked a possible shooting location to 6200 5th Avenue South in Richfield and interviewed Cain at the scene. Cain told officers he confronted people he believed were stealing items from his van around 3:30 a.m. and said they fled in the F-150, but he denied having or firing a weapon at that time.

Twelve days later, during a follow-up interview on Dec. 18, Cain acknowledged several items stolen from his van had been found inside the truck. He admitted none of the people had weapons or made any threats towards him. After officers told him they knew shots had been fired, Cain changed his story and admitted he had fired two rounds at the truck as it drove away. He told officers he later drove the gun to his family’s cabin in Aitkin and left it there, saying he thought it was best to “get it out of there.”

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Investigators also recovered surveillance footage from Cain’s home showing him running outside, yelling, and pointing a handgun. Other nearby cameras captured the F-150 speeding away from the area.

As part of the plea agreement, Cain admitted guilt to one count of second-degree unintentional murder while committing a felony, and prosecutors agreed to cap the sentence at 128 months—the bottom of the state’s sentencing guidelines. Cain’s attorneys requested a downward departure from that cap, and the court ultimately imposed a 5-year, or 60-month prison term. According to the Minnesota Department of Corrections, Cain is expected to be released from prison in Dec. 2028.

Cain had previously posted $100,000 bail and was out of custody until sentencing. Cain received credit for three days already in custody.

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