Man sentenced to 23 years for pistol-whipping grandmother, firing at Minneapolis police, pointing gun at child

A Mankato man was sentenced to 23 years in prison Thursday for a string of assaults in north Minneapolis early this year, including firing a gun at police after threatening a child and pistol-whipping a grandmother.

Kamau Evans, 32, received the sentence in Hennepin County District Court after pleading guilty to three counts of assault, including two counts of first-degree assault against a peace officer. He awaits federal sentencing in connection with the night of violence. Judge Daniel C. Moreno said the federal sentence would run concurrently with the county sentencing. With good behavior, Evans could be out of prison in 15 years.

Evans admitted to a harrowing series of events that started when he broke into his ex-girlfriend’s home in the early hours of Jan. 14.

According to state and federal charges, the woman, who shared a 1-year-old child with Evans and had a temporary order for protection against him, called 911 and fled with their baby and her 19-year-old son as Evans entered her room.

Evans then went to the woman’s mother’s home in north Minneapolis, where she lived with a 9-year-old child and one of her daughter’s children, who is 20 years old. The 20-year-old woke up to the sound of gunshots and broken glass. He called 911 and could hear someone walking up the stairs. He locked a bedroom door, but Evans kicked it open while pointing a gun at him.

During that break-in, the 20-year-old reported, Evans hit him in the back of the head with a gun and put the gun in his mouth. Evans also hit the 74-year-old grandmother with the gun after she tried to escape, and he pointed the gun at the child. The grandmother needed seven staples in her head.

Officers learned an armed suspect was barricading himself in a Minneapolis residence where the grandmother and child said Evans threatened to kill them. Evans shot in the direction of five officers while they went up a staircase in tactical formation. The lead officer carrying a ballistic shield announced “Police Department” and saw Evans pop around the corner and fire at them.

Evans jumped out a bathroom window and ran, but additional officers were in the backyard to arrest him. Police found the handgun, which Evans was ineligible to possess because of multiple felony convictions.

At sentencing on Wednesday, Evans’ attorney, Shauna Kieffer, said Evans has been remorseful from the day he was caught and never shied away from being held accountable for his actions. Kieffer said Evans has gotten sober and acts like a completely different person. “He could be a member of my Rotary club,” she said.

Evans had family in attendance at the hearing and Kieffer said Evans’ greatest regret is he won’t be able to be with his son while serving his sentence.

Kim Hyatt and Stephen Montemayor contributed to this story.