Man admits to role in shooting on Lake Street in Minneapolis that left man dead, woman wounded

An accomplice has admitted to his role in a shooting on E. Lake Street in Minneapolis that left a man dead and a woman wounded.

Charles Danny Dobbins, 20, of Eagan, agreed Monday in Hennepin County District Court to plead guilty to second-degree murder and second-degree attempted murder stemming from the shooting on Dec. 4 that killed Darius Renee Wilson, 34, of Burnsville.

The plea agreement between the prosecution and the defense calls for Dobbins to receive a term of 23¾ years. With credit for time in jail since his arrest, Dobbins is expected to serve roughly 15½ years in prison and the balance on supervised release. His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 22.

Also as part of the deal, prosecutors agreed to dismiss charges of illegal weapons possession and fleeing police in connection with an incident in November 2022 in north Minneapolis.

In July, Deon Antrell McGraw, 50, of Columbia Heights, was sentenced to a term of more than 35½ years for his part in the shooting, with the first 23¼ years spent in prison.

According to charges in the shooting:

Gunfire drew police to the intersection of E. Lake Street and 12th Avenue S., where they saw Wilson had been shot several times and was dead. A woman there had been shot in the leg.

Officers viewed surveillance video from the area that showed two gunmen in an alley. DNA testing on a glove left in the alley and discharged cartridge casings at the scene provided a match with McGraw.

The evidence showed that Dobbins and McGraw “initiated the gunfire and that [Wilson] returned fire,” the charges added.

Investigators learned that Dobbins and McGraw were staying at an apartment in Coon Rapids and selling drugs in the area where Wilson and the woman were shot. Investigators recovered “sale amounts” of cocaine and methamphetamine from his body.

On Jan. 30, officers arrested McGraw at the Coon Rapids apartment. They seized “switches” for converting guns to fully automatic. He admitted to selling crack cocaine near 12th and Lake.