A man has pled guilty to murder for fatally shooting his victim outside a fast food restaurant on Lake Street in Minneapolis more than two years ago.
Man pleads guilty to fatal shooting outside Lake Street White Castle in Minneapolis
The plea agreement between the defense and prosecution calls for Lionell Jacque Hicks to receive a sentence of roughly 38 1⁄2 years.
October 19, 2023 at 2:10PM
Lionell Jacque Hicks, 32, of West St. Paul, entered his plea Wednesday in Hennepin County District Court to second-degree murder in connection with the shooting of 32-year-old Tu'Quan L. Smith Sr. of Woodbury.
The plea agreement between the defense and prosecution calls for Hicks to receive a sentence of roughly 38½ years.
Should those terms be accepted at sentencing on Nov. 21 and with credit for time in jail since his arrest, Hicks could expect to serve about 24 years in prison and the balance on supervised release.
"This was a callous, destructive act that brought unimaginable pain to the victim's family, and my thoughts are with them today," read a statement issued Thursday by County Attorney Mary Moriarty. "Prioritizing community safety is paramount. Communities are suffering because there are too many guns in irresponsible hands that cause minor incidents to turn violent — and deadly — far too often."
Hicks remained at large for seven months after being charged. Law enforcement caught up to him in March 2022 in the 3400 block of Colfax Avenue N. in Minneapolis, where he approached sheriff's deputies with an infant in a carrier strapped to his chest, the Sheriff's Office said at the time.
The mother removed the infant from Hicks, who briefly resisted being handcuffed until he was subdued, the Sheriff's Office added.
According to the criminal complaint:
Police were called to the White Castle in the 100 block of W. Lake Street shortly before 2 a.m. on Aug. 15, 2021. They found Smith in the driver's seat of a Chevy Malibu. Emergency responders declared him dead at the scene.
Witnesses told police that a Hyundai was trying to leave the White Castle drive-through and was followed by Smith's car. The occupants of both cars were friends.
The Hyundai's driver asked the driver of a Jeep to back up, so they could leave. The Jeep's female driver complied. The Hyundai's driver asked the Jeep to back up farther. When it passed the Jeep, Smith exchanged words from the Chevy Malibu with a back seat passenger in the Jeep.
That Jeep passenger leaned out of the window and fired several shots at Smith's car. The Jeep fled, while the other two vehicles remained.
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