Suspect in fatal shooting of 2 on same day near Minneapolis homeless encampments charged in one killing

A longtime street gang member was charged Friday with fatally shooting a man near a Minneapolis homeless encampment, believed to be his second such killing of the day, and then wounding another man near a different encampment hours later.

Joshua Anthony Jones, 36, of Bemidji, was charged in Hennepin County District Court with second-degree murder in connection with the shooting of Robert Milton Brown, 39, of Minneapolis, around 4:15 p.m. Wednesday in an alley in the 2500 block of Bloomington Avenue S.

About three hours later, prosecutors say, Jones shot a man 24th Street and 18th Avenue S. Jones is charged with second-degree attempted murder in that incident. Officers arrested Jones within 15 minutes of his third alleged shooting of the day.

Police also believe that Jones is the gunman who killed Roland Scott Littleowl, 20, who died after being shot in the head about 4:40 a.m. in an alley in the 2500 block of 17th Avenue S. The shooting also left a man in his 30s wounded, police said.

The three shootings spanned less than 15 hours, occurred within a several-block perimeter and involved the victims' heads being targeted. The charges are unclear how well the men might have known Jones. The charges also did not address a motive for the shootings.

Jones remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bail and awaits a court date for the cases filed Friday. Court records do not list an attorney for him. He's due in court Monday regarding an assault charge alleging that he shot a man near a south Minneapolis light-rail station in March.

Prosecutors said in Friday's charges that Jones has been a longtime member of the Native Mob street gang that is active in south Minneapolis and elsewhere in Minnesota. His criminal history includes convictions for assault and fleeing police.

"Although the investigation is ongoing, it appears that Mr. Jones targeted several individuals over a short time span, taking two lives and harming three other victims," County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement.

Moriarty added that although these attacks do not appear to be targeting people because they are homeless, "we know that that is little comfort to them. Everyone deserves to feel safe, housed or not, and our office will work to ensure that they do."

She said further investigation is underway that could lead to more charges being filed against Jones.

On Thursday, Mayor Jacob Frey vowed to accelerate the destruction of the encampments and called out the fentanyl crisis as a major factor.

Also on Thursday, the Minneapolis City Council approved measures related to housing and homelessness: a new set of reporting requirements intended to add transparency to camp removals, including where individuals land after being dispersed; a $1.5 million rehabilitation grant to help a downtown shelter make needed repairs; and an extension of the pre-eviction notification period for renters from 14 days to 30 days.

According to the latest charges against Jones:

Officers were dispatched to a shooting in the alley late in the afternoon and saw Brown had been shot in the head. Emergency medical providers declared him dead at the scene. One 9-millimeter cartridge casing was next to his body.

Police reviewed surveillance video and saw that Brown "was standing peacefully in the alley" before Jones pointed a handgun at Brown's head at close range, the charges said.

Brown "put his hands up, bent his knees and hips, and cowered on the ground," according to the charges.

Jones paused for a moment, then shot Brown in the head, sending his victim face-up to the pavement. Jones uttered a racial epithet and walked away.

Then about 7:20 p.m., a 34-year-old man was hunted down by Jones until the victim was shot in the back of his right shoulder near 24th Street and 18th Avenue S.

The man said he was fixing the chain on his bicycle and saw Jones arrive in an SUV. He recognized Jones from past interactions, including drug dealing.

Jones hollered a racial epithet, approached the man from behind and aimed a gun at his head. The man jumped just as Jones fired one shot.

The man started running, and Jones chased him while continuing to shoot. Jones finally hit the man in the shoulder while the man was hiding behind a vehicle. An earlier shot grazed the man's head.

The man took off running again, this time until taking cover in a park building. Jones gave up the chase at that point.

Shortly after 7:30 p.m., officers found Jones and arrested him at gunpoint.

Discharged cartridge casings at all three shooting scenes were analyzed and they appear to come from the same gun.