Golden Valley man admits he fatally shot man who tried to stop him from fleeing crash in Minneapolis

A Golden Valley man has admitted to fatally shooting a man who tried to stop him from fleeing a hit-and-run crash last fall in north Minneapolis.

Robert D. Hall, 36, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree unintentional murder and attempted robbery in Hennepin County District Court in the death of 21-year-old Kavanian Palmer of Minneapolis and attempted carjacking of a nearby motorist.

As part of a plea deal, Hall will be sentenced to a term of 25 years. With credit for time in jail since his arrest, he is expected to serve about 16½ years in prison and the balance on supervised release. Formal sentencing is scheduled for March 30.

According to the criminal complaint:

Police were called about 9:50 a.m. Nov. 12 to West Broadway Avenue and Lyndale Avenue N., where they found Palmer shot in the chest and lying in the intersection. He died soon afterward at North Memorial Health Hospital.

Witnesses said Hall had driven through a red light and crashed into a vehicle. As he fled, the driver of the second car and two other men gave chase.

Witnesses said Hall resisted Palmer and the other men before shooting Palmer.

Hall then ran to a nearby Cub Foods, where he tried to carjack woman's vehicle.

Bystanders detained Hall until police arrived. During the confrontation, a gun fell out of his pocket, and witnesses took his bullet-resistant vest and a backpack containing drugs.

Palmer's death forced the Hennepin County Attorney's Office to dismiss charges in an unrelated murder case because he had been its key witness in the fatal shooting last summer in north Minneapolis.