Prosecutors charge teen in Minneapolis convenience store slaying

Hennepin County prosecutors charged a teenager with murder for his alleged role in the fatal shooting of a man outside a Harrison neighborhood convenience store — an apparent retaliatory shooting.

The 17-year-old suspect faces a charge of second-degree non-premeditated murder in the Aug. 8 death of Darryl Ramon Wells Jr., 25, at the Skyline convenience store, at 1821 Glenwood Av. The Star Tribune is not naming the teen because even though he has been formally charged, he hasn't been certified as an adult.

He is one of as many as six suspects that police believe were involved in the slaying, but so far no other charges have been publicly disclosed. An attorney for the teen, Kathryn Cima, declined to comment when reached on Monday.

A police investigation suggested the incident may have been in retaliation for the slaying the day before of Prince Hinton — who also went by Prince Martin — which put law enforcement on alert for potential retaliatory attacks in areas where Low End gang members are known to hang out, south of W. Broadway Avenue. In fact, authorities say, Hinton's death led to at least four other shootings.

A complaint filed in Hennepin County District court said that Wells had no documented history of gang involvement, and doesn't offer a possible reason for why he may have been targeted.

The complaint said that police obtained surveillance video from Aug. 8 showing the teen — identified by his clothing — hanging out with several other people at a makeshift memorial near where Hinton was shot, at the Winner gas station at the corner of Broadway and Lyndale avenues. Police say the footage showed the teen hopping into a stolen Porsche SUV with two other suspects, both adult men, while three other men got into a Dodge Charger. About an hour and 40 minutes later, video footage from a camera near Skyline showed Wells walking into the store, and then seconds later, a Charger pulling up and two men jumping out and following him inside. According to video from inside the store, the two suspects began firing — with one of the gunmen holding two handguns — at Wells, who tried to escape by running out of the front door. He tried to cross the street, with the two gunmen still in pursuit and firing their guns. As he ran, Wells was clipped by the driver's door of a Porsche SUV, which had been circling the block while he was inside, according to the complaint. Wells ran around a nearby street corner, before collapsing at the entrance of an alley, the complaint said. Video then showed the Porsche driving up to the alley. The teenage suspect and another juvenile got out and shot the victim from close range, as he lay defenseless, the complaint says.

Police say they identified the teen through his clothing, video footage and his presence in the Porsche SUV, which had previously been reported stolen. Police tracked down the registered owner of the second suspect vehicle, the Charger, who is also considered a suspect.

Libor Jany • 612-673-4064 Twitter: @StribJany