$1.5 million bail for woman accused of driving into downtown Minneapolis crowd, killing 16-year-old

Latalia Anjolie Margalli stood dispassionately with her arms crossed as bail was kept at $1.5 million on charges she killed a 16-year-old and injured five others by driving her SUV into a crowd of people last weekend in downtown Minneapolis.

Margalli, 22, made her first court appearance Wednesday in the Hennepin County Public Safety Facility after several charges were filed against her Tuesday. She faces one count of second-degree murder and five counts of assault with a dangerous weapon in connection with the crash that killed De’Miaya Broome and injured several others shortly after 12:20 a.m. Saturday at the corner of Hennepin Avenue and N. 5th Street.

Broome’s family members leaned forward in their seats and stared at Margalli as Judge Carolina Lamas explained that a bail hearing was being waived ahead of Margalli’s next court date on Oct. 15.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said Tuesday that while some things were not known about the incident, including whether Margalli was intoxicated when she drove into the crowd, the evidence was strong enough that her office could charge Margalli with intentionally killing Broome with her vehicle.

“What we do know was that this was pretty clearly intentional conduct of driving directly into the crowd,” Moriarty said at a news conference, “whether or not she was under the influence of any substances, which actually wouldn’t make a difference in terms of her culpability.”

Moriarty said that while it was clear there was a fight among a group of people before the crash, Margalli and Broome did not appear to square off physically.

The other people who were hurt included a 29-year-old woman, who suffered critical injuries, two 14-year-old girls and two men, ages 24 and 28. Police said they sustained minor injuries.

This is the third murder charge Moriarty’s office has brought this month against drivers accused of killing people with a vehicle.

On Monday, she amended charges against Derrick Thompson to include five counts of third-degree murder in a crash that killed five young Somali women last year.

Last week, she brought two counts of third-degree murder against Steven Frane Bailey in the crash at Park Tavern in St. Louis Park that killed two people and injured several others.

The reason that Thompson and Bailey were charged with third-degree murder and Margalli was charged with second-degree is because Margalli allegedly intended to kill Broome. Third-degree charges allege Thompson and Bailey perpetrated an “eminently dangerous act” and did so with a “depraved mind.”

The three cases all present different alleged behavior of the drivers, and Moriarty said the use of murder charges in cases involving a car is not a concerted effort by her office. Still, she believes there is a larger message to the public that she hopes people hear.

“Out of the tragedy of all these cases we hope that somebody out there will heed the warning here and have a plan when they get into a car to drive,” she said. “Because this is an issue that we’re seeing much more.”

Moriarty said her office saw 13 cases submitted for killings involving a vehicle in 2023, while her prosecutors have received 16 so far this year.

According to the charges against Margalli in the downtown Minneapolis incident, based on witness accounts and video:

Margalli and her friends were arguing with Broome and her friends on the street corner. The confrontation soon turned physical, and Margalli got in the SUV and started driving in reverse “in such a hurry that she knocked her passenger to the ground with the passenger door … open,” the criminal complaint read.

Seconds later, Margalli put the SUV in drive and sped the wrong way on 5th Street toward Broome as the teenager was on the pavement fighting with someone in Margalli’s group.

Margalli drove into the crowd without braking. She struck Broome and numerous other people.

An ally who arrived with Margalli at the intersection said Margalli encountered a male she knew and started arguing with him. Then a group of females told Margalli to leave the male alone. From there, fighting erupted.

Margalli went to her SUV after someone among the females released pepper spray. The females also taunted Margalli and others for leaving the fight. One of Margalli’s friends then got out of the SUV and resumed fighting. Almost immediately, Margalli plowed into the crowd and kept going until her capture less than 3 miles away, in north Minneapolis.

One of the victims told police that Margalli said “I’m going to shoot you” before getting behind the wheel.

On Monday, the state Department of Public Safety said Magalli was driving at the time of the incident with a license that has been suspended since Sept. 29, 2023, in connection with an unpaid traffic ticket in Iowa.

Her criminal history in Minnesota dates to a juvenile case in 2020 when she admitted to fifth-degree assault against a sister. In January 2021, Margalli was convicted of first-degree assault, also against a sister. Margalli punched her in the head and stomped on her until she lost consciousness.

She also has a history of convictions for traffic offenses in Minnesota, including several counts of driving on a revoked, suspended or nonvalid license, as well as driving violations in Iowa and Wisconsin.