Murder conviction overturned in shooting outside Elks club in Minneapolis

The Minnesota Court of Appeals has overturned the conviction of a man who received a 27-year sentence last year for a fatal shooting outside the Elks club in north Minneapolis during a memorial vigil.

Deandre D. Turner, 41, was sentenced in August 2023 in Hennepin County District Court after a jury convicted him of second-degree intentional murder in connection with the killing of Andrew T. McGinley on June 30, 2021.

In its ruling last week, the Court of Appeals said Turner was denied a fair trial “due to evidentiary errors and multiple instances of prosecutorial misconduct.”

Specifically, the ruling pointed out, surveillance video that captured the shooting “is extremely poor; it was taken from an old video surveillance system. It is grainy, blurry and choppy. As a result, the shooter is identifiable mainly by the color of his clothing. … The video does not clearly show the shooter’s face.”

The ruling also said a witness who was questioned by police “did not offer Turner’s name … during this interview. Instead, at the sergeant’s suggestion, [he] agreed that Turner shot the victim.”

Police were unable to locate any other witnesses who said they saw the shot that killed McGinley, the ruling continued.

As for the misconduct of prosecutors during the trial, the appellate court cited the following: referring during closing arguments to witnesses who did not testify and insinuating to the jurors without evidence that Turner was in a gang and was under the influence of drugs at the gathering.

Department of Corrections records show that Turner, who remains in custody, has more than 15 years yet to serve in prison, followed by supervised release until May 2049.

The Appeals Court ruling sends the case back to the District Court for possible retrial. The County Attorney’s Office can challenge the Appeals Court ruling, put Turner on trial again or dismiss the case.

“The Court of Appeals opinion is concerning, and we are in the process of reviewing the transcript before making a decision,” the County Attorney’s Office said in a statement Wednesday.

According to the complaint and the appellate court’s ruling:

The charges against Turner did not cite a motive but noted that McGinley and several others had gathered for a vigil for someone who had died, and that many attendees were members of street gangs.

Police responded to the shooting outside the Elks Lodge in the 1600 block of N. Plymouth Avenue at 8:55 p.m. and found McGinley fatally shot in the parking lot.

Police recovered surveillance video that showed McGinley getting into a brief physical altercation with several men outside the club, including Sharif Willis, the Twin Cities’ most recognizable gang leader from the 1990s.

McGinley fell to the ground at one point, stood up, held his hands in the air and walked away from the group. But a man walked up behind McGinley and shot him several times at close range.

A witness told police that someone else had first shot McGinley in the leg and that Turner then shot McGinley.