Man serving life for 1992 murder of Minneapolis officer is denied parole

Minnesota Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell on Wednesday denied parole for Nantambu Noah Kambon, one of the four men convicted of murder in the shooting death more than 30 years ago of Minneapolis police officer Jerry Haaf at a Lake Street pizza shop.

Schnell said his decision was "based on the totality of the factors," and that he had "identified a number of areas for [Kambon] to work on. … We want to see progress before we see him again." Another hearing will be scheduled to consider parole for Kambon in four years.

Kambon, 51, who is serving a life sentence at the state prison in Rush City, was known as Shannon Bowles at the time of his conviction before changing his name in prison. A Hennepin County jury found him guilty in 1993 of shooting Haaf in the back at the Pizza Shack after 1 a.m. Sept. 25, 1992, while the officer was on a break during his overnight shift.

Haaf's killing by members of the Vice Lords gang — among the most notorious murders in Minneapolis history — abruptly ended a program in which police officials collaborated with community figures to work with gang members to quell the eye-for-an-eye killings that were plaguing the city.

Wednesday's parole hearing at the Corrections Department in St. Paul was closed to the public. According to officials, Kambon appeared over live video from prison. Schnell reviewed case files and Kambon's prison record, and consulted with the department's life sentence review panel, according to a department statement.

In an interview, Schnell said he met with members of Haaf's family Wednesday morning before the hearing. "They came to represent the memory and legacy of officer Haaf and expressed concern about parole," he said.

Schnell said corrections officials "saw and heard demonstrations of progress, but ... we have to make decisions based on good public safety." He said he expected Kambon will be moved from the close-custody prison at Rush City to a medium-security prison in the next two to three months, giving him access to more programs.

In November, Schnell denied parole to Amwati Pepi Mckenzie, 49, who is being held in the medium-security prison in Lino Lakes. His next parole hearing is scheduled for May 2025.

Prosecutors said Mckenzie went into the Pizza Shack with Kambon and participated in the shooting, though Mckenzie told his lawyer at the time that he was only a lookout.

Two other men were convicted in Haaf's murder: Montery Willis, 55, who is imprisoned in Rush City and has a parole hearing set for April 2038; and the former A.C. Ford, 56, who has changed his name to Adl El-Shabazz and is being held at the Oak Park Heights prison. Ford has a parole hearing slated for July 2036.

In addition to his life sentence, Kambon also received a 15-year consecutive sentence for attempted murder in the shooting of Gerald Lubarski, a chef at the Pizza Shack who was wounded while sitting next to Haaf. Had Kambon been paroled for the life sentence, he still would have to serve an additional 10 years for the Lubarski shooting.

At his trial, Kambon acknowledged being a drug dealer but denied involvement in Haaf's murder. He said he had been at a nearby restaurant when he heard two "pops," went to the door and saw men running from the Pizza Shack.

However, prosecutors said that after the shooting. Kambon and Mckenzie ran a block to the home of Ed Harris, a Vice Lords member, where they changed clothes and disposed of their guns. Harris' wife, Loverine, testified in court that Kambon and Mckenzie showed up at the house after the murder.

Two weeks later, Harris was found shot to death in a south Minneapolis alley. Police theorized he was killed by other Vice Lord members because they believed he had given police information about the Haaf murder, though authorities later said that wasn't true.

Eugene McDaniel, a Vice Lords member who shared an apartment with Kambon, testified that Kambon's weapon of choice was a .357-caliber revolver with .38-caliber ammunition, the type used in Haaf's shooting. Percy Melton, an inmate at Hennepin County jail, said Kambon admitted shooting an officer with Mckenzie at the Pizza Shack.

McDaniel testified that Kambon told him he and Mckenzie planned to leave town because "the thing with the cop last night ... we did that." A juvenile identified as Richard testified that he drove Mckenzie to the Pizza Shack, and he also implicated Kambon in the murder.

On appeal, Kambon's attorney argued that four of the witnesses had received benefits as a result of testifying against him. Loverine Harris received $17,000 from the state to relocate and given character references to help her retain custody of her children. Richard was tried as a juvenile, and McDaniel and Melton were placed in witness protection programs.

State Supreme Court Justice Alan Page, writing for the court, rejected the claims filed by Kambon on appeal and upheld the conviction. He wrote that during the trial Kambon "had every opportunity to expose" the bias of witnesses to the jury "based on the receipt of those benefits." Page also rejected allegations of jury bias against Kambon, who is Black.

Staff librarian John Wareham did research for this article.