Murder charges: Already shot, man on ground shot again in back by North Side visitor seeking drugs

A man already wounded by gunfire was on the ground when he was shot a second time in the back by a visitor to north Minneapolis seeking illicit drugs, according to charges filed Tuesday.

Jacob J. Lewis, 20, of St. Francis, was charged in Hennepin County District Court with second-degree intentional murder in connection with the shooting of Heywood Jones, 34, early Thursday afternoon in the 2000 block of N. 30th Avenue.

Lewis remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bail ahead of a court appearance Wednesday. Court records do not list an attorney for him.

Jones was taken by ambulance to North Memorial Hospital and died there less than 40 minutes later, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office said.

A second suspect in the killing, an 18-year-old woman from New Hope, was jailed then released late Tuesday afternoon without being charged as the investigation continued. The Star Tribune generally does not identify suspects before they are charged.

According to the criminal complaint:

Officers dispatched to the scene saw Jones on the ground with several gunshot wounds to his back.

Witnesses told police they saw Jones approach an SUV and soon started exchanging punches with the driver, later identified as Lewis, who then shot Jones.

Lewis then got out of the vehicle, walked over to where Jones had fallen and shot him in the back. Lewis got back behind the wheel and drove off.

Video imagery of the shooting showed the 18-year-old woman with Lewis in the SUV's front passenger seat. She told police that "the two were in the area attempting to buy drugs," the complaint read.

The woman said they drove to her parent's home, where Lewis directed her to remove the SUV's front license plate. After she was unable to complete the task, Lewis did it himself.

Lewis was arrested Saturday and told police that he was the driver of the SUV and that he was present at the shooting.

About 18 months before Jones' death, Lewis was put on probation for 10 years and had a 3 ¹⁄₂-year prison sentence set aside for a first-degree aggravated robbery conviction last year in Anoka County. He was given credit for the more than 14 ¹⁄₂ months he was jailed in connection with the crime.

There have been 71 homicides in Minneapolis so far this year, according to a Star Tribune database. That compares with 81 in the city at this time last year.