It turns out that the St. Paul Police Department was seeking to arrest 17-year old Mekhi C. Speed in a pending homicide case when it sought the search warrant that the Minneapolis Police Department executed in the form of a no-knock raid. The raid resulted in the death of Amir Locke, who himself was nothing more than an innocent bystander sleeping with a handgun when the police conducted the raid. Yesterday a joint law enforcement team apprehended an armed Speed in Winona, Minnesota.
Minneapolis police executed three search warrants in the same downtown Minneapolis building. Each of the searches resulted in the seizure of evidence supporting the case against Speed. Locke was apparently Speed’s cousin. Locke was sleeping in the apartment of Speed’s brother and the brother’s girlfriend.
The Star Tribune story on Speed’s arrest does a good job of setting out Speed’s criminal record. CBS Minnesota story on Speed’s arrest is here. KARE 11’s is here.
The MPD officer who shot Locke in the course of the raid may or may not bear legal culpability. As Speed’s arrest makes clear, we do not have all the relevant facts. As of today, for example, the search warrant documents remain sealed.
You can see why the Minneapolis police might have wanted a no-knock warrant. For Speed’s background, I refer readers to the Twitter thread posted by KARE 11 reporter/producer Brandon Stahl below. Apart from Speed himself, the culprit at the heart of this tragic chain of events is Minnesota’s pathetic criminal justice system.
In September 2020, Speed, then 16, shot a man in the leg following a fight near a Brooklyn Park gas station and strip mall. Speed would plead guilty and be put on extended juvenile jurisdiction, which basically means that an adult prison sentence is stayed until he's 21. #2
— Brandon Stahl (@b_stahl) February 9, 2022
Speed would go to the West Central Regional Juvenile Center in Moorhead, a secure treatment facility. At some point he was discharged and sent home. He failed to stay in contact with his probation officer, go to school and go to therapy, according to court records. #4
— Brandon Stahl (@b_stahl) February 9, 2022
On Jan. 10, he's accused of shooting and killing 38-year-old Otis Elder. According to the criminal complaint, police watched a video of Elder's murder that showed the man who fired the gun wearing a dark jacket and light-colored hooded sweatshirt. #6
— Brandon Stahl (@b_stahl) February 9, 2022
The Mercedes was involved in numerous crimes before Edler's murder, including three armed robberies and a police pursuit.
After the murder, Police tracked the Mercedes using MNDOT cameras to the Bolero Flats in downtown Minneapolis. #8
— Brandon Stahl (@b_stahl) February 9, 2022
Police identified three different apartments that Speed could be staying in, including apartment 701, where Speed's brother and his girlfriend lived. When police raided the unit on Feb. 2, the two of them were there, along with Amir Locke — Speed's cousin. #10
— Brandon Stahl (@b_stahl) February 9, 2022
Today we know that the suspect police were looking for on Feb. 2 had a violent history as a juvenile, was given numerous chances to avoid prison, then went on to be a murder suspect. Now, if convicted, he will go to prison for decades.
And two innocent people are dead. #end
— Brandon Stahl (@b_stahl) February 9, 2022
Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.