Surveillance, Shell Casings Tie Teens to 2 Violent Shootings

May 20

A 17-year-old and a 19-year-old have now been charged in the February shooting death of a man in Minneapolis.

Investigators say the homicide was carried out at close range and captured on surveillance video.

Both teens are also linked to a violent spree five days later that left two more people shot, with one of their co-conspirators later killed in a separate incident.

FREE > Sign up for the MN CRIME newsletter

Prosecutors say Ryan Lewis Saice-Roy, 17, and Quayzhon Demetrius Lewis, 19, worked together with two others to ambush and fatally shoot 31-year-old Roberto Julian Manzano-Gomez near the 2400 block of 18th Avenue South. Officers were dispatched around 8:54 p.m. on Feb. 6 and found Manzano-Gomez in the snow with seven gunshot wounds. He died after being transported to Hennepin County Medical Center.

PREVIOUSLY: 2 Killed, 1 Hurt in Separate Minneapolis Shootings Overnight

Surveillance footage from nearby buildings shows the four suspects walking through a courtyard before encircling Manzano-Gomez and firing. Investigators recovered several discharged 9mm and .22 caliber cartridge casings at the scene, indicating multiple firearms were used. The suspects ran from the scene immediately after the shooting.

Police tracked the group’s movements to and from a residence in the 2400 block of Bloomington Avenue South, where Saice-Roy lived. Video evidence and cell phone location data showed the suspects leaving that address before the murder and returning afterward. In the days that followed, law enforcement identified the suspects by comparing their clothing and body types in video footage, corroborating it with photos on social media.

One suspect was seen wearing a distinctive blue hoodie in photos with Lewis. That sweatshirt also appeared in the surveillance video from the night of the killing. Officers recovered the hoodie during a Feb. 17 search warrant at Saice-Roy’s home. Lewis was arrested outside in a car during the search.

READ MORE > Minneapolis coverage

Five days after the murder, the same group was allegedly involved in a violent rampage in south Minneapolis that included the shooting of two men and an aggravated robbery. Prosecutors say ballistic evidence from that incident matched shell casings found at the scene of Manzano-Gomez’s murder, linking the same gun—and suspects—to both cases.

Lewis pleaded guilty in late April to one count of felony threats of violence in connection to the Feb. 11 spree, while several charges of aggravated robbery and assault were dismissed as part of the plea agreement. Lewis was released from jail on May 15, and the murder charge for the Feb. 6 shooting was filed the next day, on May 16.

Saice-Roy is charged with second-degree murder for killing Manzano-Gomez and attempted second-degree murder for shooting a man in the jaw after the man looked out his window after hearing a noise outside on Feb. 11. He remains in custody.

Authorities have confirmed that the third suspect, 17-year-old Joseph Goodwin, who was also involved in both incidents, was killed in an unrelated shooting on April 29. Prosecutors have not announced charges against the fourth person allegedly involved.

PREVIOUSLY: 4 Dead, 2 Hurt in South Minneapolis Mass Shooting

The investigation remains ongoing.

> See more of our latest coverage