Jurors have convicted a co-defendant of murder for his role in the fatal drive-by shooting of a woman in north Minneapolis 18 months ago.
Derrick Lamon Johnson, 52, of Minneapolis, was found guilty Wednesday in Hennepin County District Court of first-degree murder in connection with the death on Aug. 9, 2023, of 34-year-old Stevi Rae Palacio, of Minneapolis, near Thomas and Oak Park avenues N.
Johnson remains jailed without bail ahead of his sentencing on Feb. 7.
Co-defendant Tremaine Michael Bucholz, 27, of Minneapolis, was found guilty in December of first-degree murder during a drive-by shooting and second-degree intentional murder. He received the mandatory sentence of life in prison with the opportunity for parole in 30 years.
Prosecutors said they believe Bucholz was a shooter in Palacio’s death.
According to the charges:
Reported gunfire shortly after midnight sent officers to the scene, where they found Palacio on the sidewalk shot in the back. She was taken by emergency responders to HCMC and pronounced dead there.
Police obtained video from a resident’s doorbell camera, and it captured a cargo van stopping alongside Palacio before a gunshot from someone in the front passenger seat wounded her. Palacio started running, and the same person fired seven more shots, with one hitting her in the back.
