The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office continues to build multiple cases related to a mass shooting from February near Chicago and Franklin avenues in south Minneapolis that killed one person and injured three more.
Four now charged in Minneapolis mass shooting that killed one, injured three near troubled intersection
Albert J. Lucas, the latest to be charged in connection with a mass shooting in February that killed one, faces one count of second-degree murder and three counts of attempted second-degree murder.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
October 7, 2024 at 6:18PM
Albert J. Lucas, 20, of St. Paul, is the latest to be charged and faces one count of second-degree murder and three counts of attempted second-degree murder in connection with the shooting that killed Pierre Romel Miller, 34, of Brooklyn Park.
Lucas is the fourth suspect ranging in age from 20 to 29 now charged in connection with the crime. Three other suspects with lengthy criminal histories dating to when they were juveniles are in custody. Another, charged as an accomplice, is out on $100,000 bail.
The mass shooting took place near the Minneapolis Market on Feb. 27. A previous mass shooting that wounded eight took place near the same market in August 2023. One of the victims in the February mass shooting, Jaden T. Butcher, 19, of Minneapolis, was charged with nine counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of fleeing police in connection with that mass shooting.
According to court documents:
Police were called in the middle of the afternoon to the intersection of Chicago and Franklin avenues. They found more than 20 shell casings and a man dead on the scene. The man was identified as Miller and investigators soon learned three others had been shot but survived.
Surveillance video showed a gray KIA pull up to the market before driving around the block. The car parked in an alley and three men wearing hooded sweatshirts and masks got out of the car, pulled out guns and began shooting. Afterwards they ran back to the car and fled the scene.
Police identified the car as belonging to Elizabeth A. Dominguez, 29, of Brooklyn Park. They tracked her car and cellphone and, one week after the shooting, Dominguez was arrested driving west on Interstate 94 near St. Cloud. The KIA had new license plates and when Dominguez was pulled over she was attempting to delete text messages off her phone.
Her phone was filled with phone calls and text messages to her boyfriend, Antonio D. Timberlake, 27, of Minneapolis, including on the day of the shooting. The day after the shooting, Timberlake texted Dominguez, “Avis and budget roseville,” and “Say Bobby sent you for a rental.”
Dominguez also had internet searches on her phone for “stolen plates dmv,” “replacement license plate MN,” and “southside minneapolis shooting.”
She currently stands charged with aiding an offender and being an accomplice after the fact.
Police used tracking data on Timberlake’s phone to place him at the location of the shooting. They also found his fingerprint on a remote control inside the KIA. He has been charged with one count of second-degree murder and three counts of attempted second-degree murder.
Two weeks after the shooting, Victor M. Collins, 22, of Anoka, was arrested after fleeing from police who were given a tip that he was armed and selling drugs. A search of Collins and his backpack found a new street drug called “Tusi,” a mixture of fentanyl, ketamine, cocaine, MDA, MDMA, and tramadol. Police also found a pistol.
A ballistic check on the gun matched the shell casings at the shooting near Minneapolis Market.
Police used location data on Collins’ cellphone to place him at the scene of the shooting. It also showed that his cell phone and Timberlake’s cell phone were together before, after and during the shooting. Collins stands charged with one count of second-degree murder, three counts of attempted second-degree murder and one count of illegal possession of a firearm.
Three months after the shooting, Lucas was arrested in Minneapolis just days after he was ordered to stand trial as an adult in a separate murder case from 2021. Lucas had previously been charged as a juvenile in that murder.
When he was arrested, police found a Glock 9 mm pistol. A ballistic check on the gun matched the shell casings at the shooting near Minneapolis Market.
DNA from the steering wheel inside the KIA also matched Lucas. His cellphone data showed him with Timberlake and Collins before and after the shooting. There was no cell data transmitted from his phone at the time of the shooting, indicating it might have been turned off.
As a juvenile, Lucas was twice charged with second-degree assault and possession of an automatic weapon. He was charged with second-degree murder in the death of George F. Zeon, 19, who was shot in the head at the AmStar gas station on West Broadway between James and Knox avenues in north Minneapolis in 2021.
Lucas, 17 at the time of the shooting, was charged as an adult in that murder in 2022 but the case was dismissed before going to trial due to an unavailable witness. The charges were restored this year and Lucas was ordered to stand trial as an adult in May.
Timberlake was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2015 after he pleaded guilty to a series of violent robberies in southwest Minneapolis and Edina that left two victims stabbed. Timberlake was 16 when he committed the crimes and 17 when he was sentenced. He was let out of prison on “intensive supervised release” in December 2023.
As a juvenile, Collins was adjudicated delinquent on two counts of first-degree aggravated robbery and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was convicted of felony firearm possession as an adult in 2020 and was sentenced to four years in prison, a downward departure from sentencing guidelines. Collins was known to police as a member of the “low end” gang in Minneapolis.
No attorney was listed for Lucas. Peter Rainville, the attorney for Timberlake, did not want to comment on a pending case. Messages left with Jessica Colbert, the attorney representing Collins, and Kaleb Larson, the attorney representing Dominguez, were not immediately returned.
A message left for Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Patrick Lofton, the lead prosecutor on all four cases, was not immediately returned.
Lucas, Timberlake and Collins are being held in Hennepin County jail. Bail for Lucas is set at $2 million and $1 million for Timberlake and Collins. Dominguez, who has no criminal history except for traffic infractions, is out after posting $100,000 bail.
Lucas’ first court appearance is set for Wednesday. Timberlake’s next court date is Oct. 24. Dominguez’s next court date is Nov. 19. Collins’ next court date is Nov. 21.
Butcher, the victim in this mass shooting and alleged suspect in the previous mass shooting, is being held in Hennepin County jail on $1 million bail. His next court date is Nov. 5.
That means the initial Minnesota owner of the boat will continue receiving fines from the city of Hudson until the boat is removed from the St. Croix River.
