Ex-probation officer lured Realtor to her Maple Grove kidnapping, murder, charges say

The latest charges filed in the New Year's Eve kidnapping and killing of a north Minneapolis real estate agent say two men conducted the abduction with the help of a woman who lured the victim to a house in Maple Grove.

Elsa E. Segura, 28, of Fridley, was charged Friday in Hennepin County District Court with one count of kidnapping for allegedly luring Monique Baugh, a 28-year-old mother of two, to the home that was for sale in Maple Grove.

Two men — Cedric L. Berry and Berry A. Davis — are also charged in the case and are accused of kidnapping Baugh from Maple Grove in a U-Haul rental truck.

Hennepin County authorities confirmed that Segura had worked as a Hennepin County probation officer. Court records show that she was a child survivor of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge collapse in 2007.

Segura did not have an attorney listed, and her family could not be reached for comment.

The charges against her paint a picture of a larger web of deceit involving several people who had allegedly tried to attack Baugh a day earlier but were thwarted when she arrived at the Maple Grove home with a second real estate agent.

Baugh's live-in boyfriend and the father of her 1- and 3-year-old daughters, Jon Mitchell-Momoh, was shot several times in their north Minneapolis home in the attack. He survived. Baugh, her wrists bound with tape, was found shot three times in a north Minneapolis alley.

Segura is the girlfriend of an unnamed suspect whom Mitchell-Momoh identified to police as someone who "wanted to harm him," the charges said.

Berry, 41, of Minneapolis, was charged earlier this month in the case and faces one count each of second-degree attempted murder with intent, second-degree murder with intent, and kidnapping. He remains jailed in lieu of $2 million bail.

Davis, 40, of Brooklyn Park, was charged late Thursday with one count each of second-degree murder and kidnapping for his alleged role in the case. Davis was charged via arrest warrant and is not in custody.

According to the charges against Berry and Davis: A neighbor's surveillance camera showed Baugh parking her car at a Maple Grove house about 3 p.m. on Dec. 31. The camera also captured two suspects from a U-Haul truck later walking up to the house at separate times.

The home's garage door opened and one suspect walked out, positioned the U-Haul's cargo area to face the garage and re-entered the home. A second suspect walked out of the garage holding onto a third person, presumably Baugh. The pair entered the cargo area of the U-Haul.

The first suspect got into the truck and drove away, according to the charges.

The charges also said a masked man entered the north Minneapolis home Baugh shared with Mitchell-Momoh and shot Mitchell-Momoh several times about 5:40 p.m. that day. The couple's daughters were home at the time.

About 6:38 p.m. and a few miles away, Baugh was shot in the torso and face at close range in an alley. Berry's fingerprint was lifted from tape around Baugh's wrist, the charges said.

The charges did not specify a motive, but a criminal complaint said the bloodshed occurred after Mitchell-Momoh, a rising rapper, had just signed a contract and was "flaunting his cash on social media."

Mitchell-Momoh has said he did not know Berry.

According to the charges against Segura and Davis: Baugh received a voice mail message from an unknown phone number on Dec. 29 from a woman named "Lisa" who requested a showing for a home in the 8300 block of Niagara Lane. The caller said she wanted the showing "maybe tomorrow morning."

Baugh received several calls from the number and "found this very odd," the charges said. "She expressed to others that she did not know how this person obtained her personal phone number," the complaint said.

Police traced the phone number to Segura, whose voice was "verified by law enforcement personnel who were personally familiar with her."

A search warrant executed on the phone used by "Lisa" revealed that it was purchased Dec. 29. Video showed Berry receiving two phone calls while purchasing the phone, the charges said. Berry's phone records showed that he received two calls and two text messages from Davis.

Berry's cellphone, Davis' cellphone and "Lisa's" phone used the same cellphone towers on Dec. 29 consistent with the location of Segura's Fridley home. The three were believed to be together late that afternoon, the charges said.

Segura allegedly tried to lure Baugh to the Maple Grove home on Dec. 30, but Baugh was with an associate. "Lisa" called Baugh at 11:19 a.m. that day to ask if the stove was gas or electric. Authorities allege that during the call, Berry's and Davis' cellphones were using cellphone towers in the area of the Maple Grove house.

"No one actually showed to view the house …" the complaint said, adding that Berry and Davis were likely scouting to see if Baugh was alone.

Investigators questioning Segura on Tuesday played the Dec. 29 voice mail to her, and she admitted to making the call, according to the complaint.

Jon Collins, a spokesman for the Hennepin County Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said Segura worked for the county from June 2014 to December 18, 2019.

"Our department's thoughts and condolences are with the family of the victim during this time," said a department statement. "This incident and former employee do not represent the high standards that our department's probation officers maintain on a daily basis to enhance community safety, promote community restoration, and reduce the risk of re-offense."

The department did not address how Segura's employment ended, or whether she had any connections to the suspects or victims through her work.

Segura was charged via arrest warrant Friday morning. She was not in custody when the complaint was filed.

Court records and Star Tribune archives show that as a child, Segura was on a school bus when the I-35W bridge collapsed beneath them in 2007. Fifty students, eight staffers and the driver and her two children were aboard.

Chao Xiong • 612-270-4708 Twitter: @ChaoStrib