The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday reversed the conviction of a man accused of planning the kidnapping and murder of a Minneapolis real estate agent two years ago.
Supreme Court reverses key conviction in 2019 murder of Minneapolis real estate agent
Lyndon Wiggins’ jury was given erroneous instructions that affected his conviction, according to ruling.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
March 20, 2024 at 9:50PM
The case against Lyndon Wiggins, 39, was remanded back to Hennepin County District Court on Wednesday. Investigators accuse Wiggins of planning the 2019 abduction and murder of Monique Baugh after a music partnership with Baugh’s boyfriend, Jon Mitchell-Momoh, soured. Baugh was kidnapped and shot three times. She was 28.
Mitchell-Momoh was shot multiple times by a masked intruder while at Baugh’s home watching their two daughters. He survived, calling 911 and alleging Wiggins may be the culprit.
A jury found Wiggins guilty in 2022 of first-degree premeditated murder, attempted first-degree premeditated murder, first-degree intentional murder while committing a felony and kidnapping. Wiggins appealed the decision, claiming that jurors were given erroneous instructions that affected the outcome of his trial.
The Supreme Court considered whether the District Court erred when it instructed the jury it could find Wiggins guilty if Wiggins “or another (or others)” satisfied each element of the offense.
“At trial, defense counsel objected to the instructions given, reasoning that ‘if the jury finds that someone else committed the crime, that would be sufficient to find Mr. Wiggins guilty.’ We agree,” the 22-page opinion letter read, pointing to accomplice Elsa Segura whose conviction was reversed for similar reasons. “Here, we do the same, and reverse the judgement of Wiggins’s convictions and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.”
The case against Wiggins reverts to its status just before the trial. He will be sent back to the Hennepin County jail to face all the original charges in the case, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.
Mitchell-Momoh testified that Wiggins signed him to his music label Black Bag Entertainment, but Mitchell-Momoh left the label in 2019. He said Wiggins accused him of stealing music.
Investigators recovered text messages in which Wiggins told Segura that he would have to sue Mitchell-Momoh. Wiggins told another contact that he nearly “caught a murder case” after an interaction with Mitchell-Momoh.
Tipsters suggested that Wiggins coordinated the murder as a paid hit against Mitchell-Momoh. Cell phone data placed Wiggins near the Metro PCS where Cedric Berry and Berry Davis bought a phone to lure and kidnap Baugh. Such data also placed Wiggins, Berry, Davis, the new phone and Segura near Segura’s home in the minutes before she called Baugh under the alias “Lisa Powalski.”
Segura received a life prison sentence without parole for her role in Baugh’s death before the Supreme Court reversed her conviction this January. Her case was also remanded back to the Hennepin County District Court, and she remains in custody at the Shakopee women’s prison.
Star Tribune staff writer Kim Hyatt contributed to this story.
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