A 46-year-old man has been arrested and charged with murder nearly a year after he allegedly shot a house party guest in the northern Minnesota city of Cass Lake.
Arrest made in fatal drive-by shooting in Cass Lake nearly a year ago
The victim was shot while at a house party, according to authorities.
July 5, 2022 at 8:45PM
William J. Headbird of Cass Lake was jailed Friday after being charged with second-degree murder in connection with the shooting of Diego Gasca, 34, on July 5, 2021. Headbird was arrested in Grand Rapids, Minn., on Friday and remained jailed without bail ahead of a midday Tuesday court appearance. Court records do not list an attorney for him.
According to the criminal complaint:
Sheriff's deputies summoned to a home near Basswood Avenue and NW. 4th Street found Gasca, of Cass Lake, down in the street with a gunshot wound to the chest. Emergency responders took him to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A group of people walked through the party scene shortly before the shooting, and "a verbal altercation" ensued that included Gasca, according to the complaint. Moments later, gunfire from a car hit Gasca. Authorities determined that the car belonged to Headbird. Law enforcement located Headbird, who said he was drunk that night and didn't know the location of his car. About a month later, law enforcement located his car "on a property belonging to a former relation of his," the complaint read. The vehicle was partly dismantled and covered with debris in an attempt to conceal it.
The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension located Headbird's fingerprints on car parts and his DNA on the driver's side interior door handle.
Headbird has denied any involvement in Gasca's death.
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