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Jeff Day

Reporter | Hennepin County courts

Jeff Day is a Hennepin County courts reporter. He previously worked as a sports reporter and editor.

Recent content from Jeff Day
Defendant Mukhtar Mohamed Shariff walks into United States District Court during the third day of jury selection in the first Feeding Our Future case

Court filing describes chaotic messaging around attempted $120,000 bribe in Feeding Our Future trial

Lies, tension and hope swirled as several defendants in the Feeding Our Future federal fraud case tried to secure a not guilty verdict by paying off a juror with a bag of cash.
The justices of the Minnesota Supreme Court convened for oral arguments in Clapp v. Cox on Oct. 1, 2024.

In latest self-defense ruling, Minnesota Supreme Court orders new trial for man who killed robber

A St. Paul man was sentenced to over 36 years in prison for second-degree murder in 2022 after he shot a man who robbed him.
In November 2023, a barricade blocks cars from driving over the spot George Floyd was murdered in front of Unity Foods at George Floyd Square in Minne

Businesses at George Floyd Square sue Minneapolis, Mayor Frey for $30 million, demand condemnation

Cup Foods argues the city of Minneapolis and Mayor Jacob Frey have already unlawfully taken their property and must commence eminent domain proceedings.
A Hennepin County jury awarded $1.1 million in damages to an Excelsior couple who conceived a healthy baby boy four years after the husband was incorr

Excelsior parents awarded $1.1 million in lawsuit over misread vasectomy results

A jury was asked to weigh the cost of raising a child to maturity against the value the child brings to the world after the husband was incorrectly told his vasectomy was successful.
Louis Bellamy, the father of Lucas Bellamy who died at the Hennepin County jail in July 2022 after prolonged suffering from a perforated bowel, is com

Hennepin County pays $3.4 million to settle lawsuit for wrongful death of jail inmate Lucas Bellamy

The settlement is believed to be one of the largest ever paid in Minnesota for a death in jail. The suit was brought by Louis Bellamy, the founder of Penumbra Theater in St. Paul.
Edgar Barrientos-Quintana was released from prison Wednesday after having his life sentence overturned.

With conviction vacated, Minneapolis man serving life for teenager's murder released from prison

Edgar Barrientos-Quintana spent more than 15 years in prison for the murder of Jesse Mickelson. A three-year investigation found the conviction was extremely flawed.
Hennepin County Government Center

Charges: Witness recordings help police ID man who beat his dog on walks in Minneapolis

Stephon Mosley Thompson faces two charges of cruelty to animals after several people recorded him striking his dog in the face on multiple occasions in Uptown.
Police tape surrounds the small encampment where a shooting occurred in Minneapolis' Hiawatha neighborhood on Oct. 27.

Minneapolis man charged with killing three, shooting another before standoff with St. Paul police

Earl Bennett faces a string of criminal charges after a triple homicide at a homeless encampment and an attempted murder at a sober house.
The five killed were: Sabiriin Ali, 17, at left; Sahra Gesaade, 20, and Salma Abdikadir, 20, upper right; and Sagal Hersi, 19, and Siham Adam, 19.

Derrick Thompson rejects plea deal, will stand trial for murder in Mpls. crash that killed 5 women

The Hennepin County Attorney's Office had offered to drop multiple felony charges if Thompson pleaded guilty to five counts of criminal vehicular homicide in the 2023 crash.
Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez along with Timberwolves and Lynx owner Glen Taylor during a news conference Monday.

Everything to know as arbitration begins in Wolves, Lynx ownership dispute

An arbitration panel loaded with legal expertise will hear arguments before deciding whether Glen Taylor or Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez have majority ownership of the Wolves and Lynx.
Investigators combed through the charred remains of a house that was burned down on Nikkole Dobson's property in Brainerd.

Amber Alert leads to arrest of Brainerd man who allegedly killed 1, kidnapped woman and four kids

The suspect was identified as Chad Aanerud, who has a lengthy criminal history in Crow Wing County.
This photo provided to the Star Tribune shows a gunman on a balcony  in Minneapolis on Tuesday in a Lyndale Avenue apartment building.

New charges detail Minneapolis assault that led to shooting rampage, killing one in Kandiyohi County

Ameer Matariyeh allegedly pointed a gun at the head of his ex-girlfriend and her friend, setting off a string of violence through western Minnesota that left one dead.
A “wrongful conception” lawsuit filed in Hennepin County in 2023 is scheduled to go to trial next week. The legal argument of wrongful conception

'Wrongful conception' lawsuit weighs joy of unplanned child vs. liability from failed vasectomy

A nurse at Minnesota Urology misread a man's semen sample after a vasectomy. Four years later, the man's wife got pregnant. The couple is suing for damages, including the cost of raising the child.
St. Paul police shot and wounded a man Monday night at this location.

Man shot by St. Paul police is tied to double homicide and another shooting in Minneapolis

Eric Bennett is charged in one Minneapolis shooting that occurred hours before he was shot, according to prosecutors.
A wanted flyer for John Sawchak posted in south Minneapolis' Lyndale neighborhood.

Bail set at $1 million as Mpls. man asks for restraining order against neighbor he allegedly shot

Hennepin County Judge Jean Burdorf set bail at $1 million with conditional release of $600,000. John Sawchak said there was no way he could post it.
Police tape surrounds an encampment in Minneapolis where a shooting occurred Sunday afternoon.

Two more victims from encampment shootings identified as Mayor Frey says, 'This is about fentanyl.'

Over the weekend, three people were murdered and three were critically injured in two shootings near homeless encampments in south Minneapolis.
People gather outside the Hennepin County Government Center to wait for the verdict in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Cha

Defamation lawsuit against 'The Fall of Minneapolis' documentary faces high legal hurdles

Minneapolis Police Assistant Chief of Operations Katie Blackwell sued Alpha News reporter Liz Collin over how she was portrayed in Collin's book and film.

Former St. Thomas men's track athlete acquitted of sexual assault of freshman at party

A jury found the St. Paul man not guilty of third-degree sexual assault after an 11-day trial. Jurors deliberated for 90 minutes.
Minneapolis North quarterback Deshaun Hill. (Courtesy North High School)

Mary Moriarty will seek to retry man in killing of Minneapolis North High School quarterback

The Minnesota Supreme Court declined to review a Court of Appeals decision that overturned the conviction of Cody Fohrenkam in the killing of 15-year-old Deshaun Hill, a student and athlete at Minneapolis North.
Minneapolis Police Inspector Katie Blackwell testified about the use of department-sanctioned restraint techniques during ex-officer Derek Chauvin's 2

High-ranking MPD officer sues Liz Collin, Alpha News for defamation following film, book

Katie Blackwell, MPD assistant chief of operations, says her career has been clouded by baseless accusations Collin made in the film "The Fall of Minneapolis" and book "They're Lying: The Media, the Left, and the Death of George Floyd."
Suzanne Weston-Kirkegaard, a forensic biologist with the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, prepared DNA reference samples used to c

Hennepin County Sheriff's Office stops all DNA analysis after crime lab contamination

An internal investigation of casework is ongoing but has already identified approximately 75 samples that have been impacted.

Police use DNA, Snapchat to link Minneapolis man to unsolved 2017 kidnapping, rape

Abdimahat Bille Mohamed is charged in two sexual assault cases spread across seven years that allege a pattern of using Snapchat to connect with victims before assaulting them.
The Minnesota Supreme Court's decision said there’s an “inherent tension” in considering only the defendant’s duty to retreat when they are us

Minnesota Supreme Court orders new trial for man convicted of murder for shooting stepbrother's attacker

The court explained how the legal calculus changes when deadly force is used to protect someone else.
Conga Latin Bistro in Minneapolis, shown in 2005.

At sentencing for murder outside Minneapolis restaurant, victim's family and killer express anguish

Juan Josue Canario Robles was sentenced to 12½ years in the murder of Franclin Orellana. Robles begged for forgiveness and said Orellana haunts his dreams.
When arrests were first made in the Nudieland case, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said there was not enough information to know whether it wa

Teen charged as an adult in Minneapolis 'Nudieland' shooting that killed 1, injured 6

Dominic James Burris was initially charged in juvenile court with killing August Golden and wounding six others at a pop-up backyard concert in Minneapolis in 2023.
The offices of RSP Architects inside the Grain Belt Brew House in northeast Minneapolis. The firm is being sued by a former employee alleging he was f

Minneapolis architectural firm accused of firing whistleblower who discovered millions missing

RSP Architects gave Todd Novak, one of their top employees, various reasons for why he was fired. A lawsuit alleges it's because he found $2-6 million missing in corporate finances.
Temple Israel in Minneapolis. A man allegedly made several violent threats against staff at Temple Israel in Minneapolis over the course of a month, b

Man charged with felonies for threat on Temple Israel in Minneapolis; no evidence of antisemitism

Jaden Thomas LeBlanc faces three counts of felony threats of violence, but the acts allegedly stemmed from his disdain for security guards.
Members of the Minneapolis Police Department forensics unit work around the scene of a multi-person shooting near the intersection of E. Franklin Ave.

Four now charged in Minneapolis mass shooting that killed one, injured three near troubled intersection

Albert J. Lucas, 20, of St. Paul, is the latest to be charged and faces four counts in connection with the slaying of Pierre Romel Miller, 34, of Brooklyn Park.
People Serving People hired private security to help protect the St. Anne’s shelter in Minneapolis, Minn., on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. The move came

Hennepin County charges man with assault, riot in last month's attack on family homeless shelter

Travin Williee Merritt faces seven felony charges in connection with an attack at St. Anne's Place, a shelter for homeless families in Minneapolis.
Attorney General Keith Ellison's office filed a lawsuit against the developer of a Lakeville housing development aimed at Somali families.

Ellison alleges fraud by developer marketing Lakeville community to Somali Americans

A lawsuit accuses Abdiwali Abdullahi of consumer fraud in how he marketed his proposed Nolosha development in Lakeville and seeks refunds for "hundreds of families."
The man accused of killing two people and injuring nine others by drunkenly crashing his car into the Park Tavern patio in St. Louis Park will be gran

Driver in crash that killed two on Park Tavern patio granted conditional release from jail

After posting $500,000 bail, Steven Frane Bailey will be transferred to a sober living facility and placed on strict monitoring while his case moves through the courts.
Minneapolis Police Department investigators at the scene of a fatal shooting near 26th Street E. and 18th Avenue, on the city's South Side.

New charges reveal killings near Minneapolis homeless encampment weren't random

The Hennepin County Attorney's Office filed additional charges against Joshua Anthony Jones, who is accused of killing two people and shooting two others over 15 hours in Minneapolis.
Hennepin County Attorney General Mary Moriarty. RICHARD TSONG-TAATARII • richard.tsong-taatarii @startribune.com

The Hennepin County Attorney's Office is flooding courts with a motion for private police data

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty campaigned on holding police accountable. Since February, her office has filed nearly 600 motions seeking private records of the police working its cases.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara called the shooting of a toddler “absolutely horrific. It is outrageous. I am most thankful that it appears

Man charged in Minneapolis killing of woman holding 2-year-old son; child survived gunshot to face

Ayale Abdullahi Ali allegedly killed Lilian M. Polacin Perez while she was in a car with her three children and the father was running an errand in Minneapolis.

Charges: Man beat woman to death outside Minneapolis church

Surveillance video shows the two spending time together on the night she died in July.
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Accomplice in Minneapolis real estate agent's murder gets 20 years after life sentence overturned

Victim was lured to a fake showing and killed over a business dispute with the accomplice's boyfriend.
Hennepin County Government Center

Charges: Father, son partying at downtown Minneapolis club ends with drug deal turned murder

Kevin Eric Wilbert of Chicago was charged last week in the 2021 killing of Manuel Dandre Lott.
Sisters of the murder victim Jesse Mickelson, Tina Rosebear and Cynthia Young, listen as Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty speaks at a news confe

Juror, victim family members call for release of Minneapolis man serving life sentence for murder

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty apologized for her office's role in the 2009 conviction of Edgar Barrientos for the murder of Jesse Mickelson.
Catherine Markey wears a button with her son Stephen Markey's photo on it during a rally in protest of Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty outside

Minneapolis man given controversial plea deal for deadly carjacking as teen charged with fleeing police

Husayn Braveheart, 21, was arrested Sunday; charges allege he topped speeds of 100 mph.
Police Chief Brian O'Hara briefed news reporters about the hit-and-run in downtown Minneapolis early Saturday that left one person dead and others inj

$1.5 million bail for woman accused of driving into downtown Minneapolis crowd, killing 16-year-old

Latalia Margalli faces second-degree murder and assault charges after several people were run over in downtown Minneapolis, including 16-year-old De'Miaya Broome, who was killed.
Associate Justice Theodora GaĂŻtas spoke at her investiture ceremony Monday at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul.

Four things to know about Theodora GaĂŻtas, the newest member of the Minnesota Supreme Court

As the court finishes an "extraordinary moment of transition," GaĂŻtas was sworn in Monday in a ceremony at the Minnesota History Center.
The five women killed in the 2023 car crash were: Sabiriin Ali, 17, at left; Sahra Gesaade, 20, and Salma Abdikadir, 20, upper right; and Sagal Hersi,

Murder charges added in case where five young Somali women died in car crash

For the second time in a week, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty brings murder charges in high-profile cases involving auto-related deaths.

Charges: Father in bed when son, 3, dies after falling out of eighth-story window in Brooklyn Center

The death occurred at an apartment building where a man and his three children were staying with their uncle.
Twin Cities Orthopedics in Edina includes urgent care, physical therapy, clinic and surgery space.

Charges: Teens 'ransack' Edina Panda Express, steal three drug safes from Twin Cities Orthopedics

One adult and two juveniles face felony burglary charges after they allegedly "ransacked" a Panda Express and stole fentanyl and other drugs from an urgent care.
Savannah Ryan Williams’ mother Kim Stillday cries as she gives a victim impact statement during the sentencing hearing for Damarean Kaylon Bible at

At sentencing for murder of transgender woman, state leaders call for end to 'hateful rhetoric'

Savannah Williams was honored by those who loved her as Damarean Bible was sentenced to 30 years for her murder.
Mike Lindell and his Chaska-based company MyPillow have been at the center of several lawsuits in recent years, including three federal defamation law

MyPillow sued by shipping company DHL for more than $800,000 in back payments

Mike Lindell and his Chaska-based pillow company have been at the center of several lawsuits in recent years. A new one was filed in Hennepin County this week.
Law enforcement ware seen outside of the Scheels at Eden Prairie Center in 2022 after Jordan Markie died inside the store.

Scheels, employee sued over teen's suicide in Eden Prairie store

Jordan Markie was 19 when he went to Scheels in Eden Prairie and asked to see a handgun that he loaded with ammo and used to die by suicide. A lawsuit questions company policy and an employee's actions.
A traveler fought through the snow and ice to get to the Metro Government Center Plaza station as the snow picked up in downtown Minneapolis.

Who is responsible when a Minnesotan slips on ice in a business parking lot?

The Minnesota Court of Appeals issued an opinion after an Elk River man broke his ankle slipping on ice in a Menards parking lot.

Charges: Man kills cousin outside Minneapolis home after argument over a pound of marijuana

Curtis Edward Jackson is charged with second-degree murder after allegedly shooting his cousin, Marcus David Williams, for refusing to return a backpack full of drugs.
A shoe from a victim rests on the patio near the car that was involved. Two people were killed by a driver who drove through the patio at the Park Tav

Third-degree murder charges added against driver in Park Tavern crash that killed 2, injured 9

The Hennepin County Attorney's Office brought an additional charge of third-degree murder against Steven Frane Bailey after reviewing surveillance video from the Park Tavern patio.

Charges: Minneapolis man high on drugs kills man over hooded sweatshirt

William Howard Sanders IV allegedly told police he was high on PCP when he shot De'Jaun Marquise Michael Hall in part because he was wearing a hooded sweatshirt on a nice day.

Twin Cities teacher, already in prison, indicted in sexual assault of 12 more children

Aaron Hjermstad is serving 12 years for sexually assaulting four other students. The new charges carry the potential for a life sentence.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison

Brooklyn Park man accused of tax evasion over vape shops and deceptive practices at décor business

Hennepin County charges and an attorney general lawsuit accuse William Shocinski Jr. of Brooklyn Park of not providing metal décor products, making fake charity claims and evading tobacco vaping taxes.
Relatives paid their respects Wednesday to Gabriel Quinn Harvey of Rosemount, a 30-year-old health unit coordinator who was killed Sunday on the patio

Driver charged in Park Tavern crash says his alcohol use is not a problem

Steven Frane Bailey made his first court appearance after being charged with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide while driving under the influence.
Abdul Wright waited in the green room at KARE 11, before an interview on May 16, 2016.

Charges: Former Minnesota Teacher of the Year groomed, raped 14-year-old student

Abdul Wright taught at Harvest Best Academy in Minneapolis during the alleged assaults and most recently taught at St. Louis Park High School.

Minneapolis man accused of attempting to kill apartment property manager with ax

The 59-year-old suspect allegedly broke down a door with a sledgehammer before attacking the woman at his south Minneapolis apartment building.
The Minnesota Supreme Court, shown at a November hearing.

Minnesota Supreme Court sides with police, prosecutors in three rulings this week

A drug-sniffing dog, a gun in a locked glove box and a confusing timeline of criminal activity were all taken under consideration by the state's high court.
A line of sweatpants is displayed at Lululemon at a store at the South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa as seen June 19, 2011. Lululemon Athletica Inc. annou

Charges: Lululemon shoplifting operation ran for months through nail salon

A series of organized retail thefts that originated at a downtown Minneapolis Lululemon were traced to Diamond Nails Salon in Crystal.
Calon Hatchett was sentenced to 47 years for two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder at the Hennepin Count

At sentencing for 'serial killer,' Hennepin County families lament last minute plea deal

Calon Hatchett was sentenced to 47 years in prison for killing Ali Reed and Tonia Powell within a month last year in Minneapolis.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara, left, spoke with investigators and officers following a suspected overdose death involving a 2-year-old girl at

Mothers charged in separate cases after 2-year-old dies from fentanyl, infant hospitalized for meth poisoning

The women face charges of second-degree manslaughter and felony child neglect.
The five killed were: Sabiriin Ali, 17, at left; Sahra Gesaade, 20, and Salma Abdikadir, 20, upper right; and Sagal Hersi, 19, and Siham Adam, 19.

Plea deal on the table for suspect in car crash that killed five young Somali women

If Derrick Thompson accepts the plea, he would serve between 32 and 38 years in prison after being charged with 10 counts of criminal vehicular manslaughter.

Charge: Girl, 5, safe after woman just released from prison kidnaps her in Minneapolis

A Minneapolis woman with a lengthy criminal history allegedly seized the girl one week after being given supervised released from prison.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has his office investigating a proposed real estate development by Nolosha LLC aimed at Minnesota's Somali co

Investigation grows contentious between Minnesota attorney general, Somali housing developer

A Hennepin County judge intervened this week in the Minnesota Attorney General's Office investigation of a housing development by Nolosha aimed at Minnesota's Somali community in Lakeville.
Danicka Bergeson’s family hold photos of her as her mother Leticia Guadarrama reads her victim impact statement for Judge Daniel Moreno during the s

Matthew Brenneman sentenced to nearly 24 years for Danicka Bergeson's murder

He killed his girlfriend in her Hopkins apartment just days after he was released from jail for abusing her.

Man sentenced to 23 years for pistol-whipping grandmother, firing at Minneapolis police, pointing gun at child

Kaumau Evans of Mankato also awaits federal sentencing for the string of assaults in north Minneapolis.
Edgar Barrientos, in an undated handout photo provided by the Great North Innocence Project.

Minnesota Attorney General's Office recommends overturning conviction in 2008 drive-by shooting

The Conviction Review Unit concluded that prosecutors, police investigators and Edgar Barrientos' defense team all were to blame for a wrongful first-degree murder conviction.
D'Shawn JC Porter, third from left, with his family. Porter was shot and killed without provocation during an attempted drug deal on Lake Street.

As his alleged killer appears in court, family members of 'Fatboy' lament scourge of drugs in Minneapolis

A 21-year-old was charged with second-degree murder in the death of D'Shawn JC Porter.
Pull-tabs.

After winning $1,000 in pull-tabs at northeast Minneapolis bar, man survives robbery, eight gunshots

Two men were charged with robbing and shooting a patron of the Vegas Lounge in northeast Minneapolis after they saw him win big at pull-tabs.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara gives an update following a shooting that resulted in four children being injured in Minneapolis on Sunday.

Shooting of 4 children in stolen car raises familiar alarm in Minneapolis

Two of the children ages 11 to 13 suffered serious injuries, including paralysis and concerns over brain swelling.

Former DeLaSalle band and choir teacher charged with sexually assaulting student

Daniel James Felton was charged with criminal sexual conduct for allegedly assaulting a former student over five months in 2022.
Conga Latin Bistro in Minneapolis, shown in 2005.

Eden Prairie man pleads guilty to fatal shooting outside Minneapolis restaurant

Juan Josue Canario Robles admitted to killing Franclin Ignacio Orellana outside the Conga Latin Bistro in northeast Minneapolis in December.

Charges: Man placed hidden camera inside men's locker room at Life Time Fitness

Police allege that a Texas man used a mobile livestreaming app to target boys changing at the Eden Prairie Life Time Fitness.
A newly constructed home on Lake Minnetonka in Wayzata, shown here in 2021, became the center of a lengthy legal dispute.

After years of litigation, Lake Minnetonka mansion with 'Garage Mahal' gets to stay

Former Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway and former UnitedHealth Group executive Ken Ehlert had sued their neighbors, who are heirs to the Aussie shampoo fortune.

Oakdale man allegedly used 'ghost gun' in drive-by shooting in Minneapolis

The 18-year-old victim was getting out of a car with three other passengers when an SUV approached and its driver began shooting. Passengers with the victim returned fire.
Savannah Williams

Jury delivers guilty verdict in murder of transgender woman in Minneapolis

A self defense argument fell flat for Damarean Bible in the shooting death of Savannah Ryan Williams.