Charges dismissed in north Minneapolis deadly crash after search ruled illegal

Felony charges have been dismissed against a woman after a judge ruled this week that police used evidence from an unconstitutional search to prompt her confession to her involvement in a fatal hit-and-run crash in north Minneapolis.

With the admission from the unlicensed driver ruled out as evidence, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office on Thursday dismissed charges against Khyan A. Whitley, 35, of Minneapolis, of criminal vehicular homicide and criminal vehicular operation in connection with the Nov. 13, 2021, wreck that killed Jonneekwa S. Donald, 30, of Minneapolis.

Police determined that Whitley's vehicle "may have run a stop sign, then T-boned [the victims'] vehicle" in the 1400 block of N. Morgan Avenue, the charges read. A bystander saw the car drive away and wrote down the license plate.

On Dec. 8, Whitley admitted involvement to police in the crash and explained that she fled and put her car beneath a cover because she didn't have a driver's license or insurance, the criminal complaint read. Whitley hadn't had a valid driver's license since 2008, when it was suspended.

Assistant County Attorney Kali Gardner explained in her dismissal filing Thursday that the "state is no longer able to meet its burden of proof with suppressed evidence ... involving an improper search and [the] fruits that followed."

The confession was first questioned in October by the defense and thrown out by District Judge Paul Scoggin because police "pulled up the vehicle cover enough to view the license plate," which led them to Whitley and her confession, the judge wrote Tuesday.

In May, the prosecution lost before the Court of Appeals to have the confession revived as evidence. Once Scoggin this week denied the prosecution's latest attempt to get the confession readmitted, the County Attorney's Office conceded and dismissed the case.

Sarah Shah, a spokeswoman for the County Attorney's Office, said Friday that the "charges cannot be refiled."

Michael Donald, Jonneekwa Donald's brother, said Friday that "I was in disbelief [and] mad at the court system" after hearing of the case's dismissal.

He said he and his wife, who are raising their four children, added two of his sister's three children, boys ages 9 and 13, to the family's Minneapolis home.

"This has just been hard on us," Michael Donald said. "It's just crazy sometimes. We need to go after [Whitley] civilly. It's just crazy sometimes."

Scoggin in his final ruling pointed to the precise police conduct that he says violated Whitley's constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and seizures:

About 3½ weeks after the crash, two police sergeants went to Whitley's home and saw a cover draped over her car, but "extensive damage" remained exposed. One of the sergeants lifted the cover enough to see the license plate, which matched the plate spotted by a witness on the car as it fled the scene. The plate pointed to Whitley as the driver.

The sergeants had the car seized, knocked on the door and spoke to Whitley's son, who said his mother was not home. The sergeants left their contact information, and Whitley met with them the next day. When they asked her about the damage to her car, she admitted to being involved in the crash.

"[Whitley] might have answered quite differently had she not been confronted with the illegally searched evidence, the front-end damage to her vehicle and the fact that it had been seized by the police," Scoggin wrote. "The sergeants' illegal search also removed any possible wiggle-room for [her] to provide an innocent explanation.

"Thus, the court finds this factor favors [Whitley's] statement as a fruit of the poisonous tree."