Latest news with #MinneapolisCrash
The Independent
4 days ago
- The Independent
Jurors have convicted a Minnesota man of killing 5 young woman in a 2023 vehicle crash
A state court jury convicted a Minneapolis-area man Friday of third-degree murder and vehicular homicide in the deaths of five young women in a crash that authorities said was caused by him speeding, running a red light and slamming into their car. Jurors in Hennepin County District Court deliberated two days before reaching their verdict in the case of Derrick John Thompson, 29, of Brooklyn Park, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported. In November, a federal court jury convicted Thompson on drug and firearms charges because investigators found a handgun, ammunition and illegal drugs in his vehicle after the June 2023 crash, and he is awaiting sentencing in that case. He was convicted Friday of 15 charges and his sentencing is set for July 24. Third-degree murder is unintentionally causing a death through 'eminently dangerous' actions and with 'a depraved mind, without regard for human life.' 'His choices that day scarred many lives and affected an entire community,' Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty told reporters following the verdict, according to KARE-TV. The Minneapolis crash victims — Salma Abdikadir, Siham Adam, Sabiriin Ali, Sahra Gesaade and Sagal Hersi — were between 17 and 20 years old, on their way home from preparations for a friend's wedding. Their deaths sparked sorrow and outage among Minnesota's sizeable Somali American population. Prosecutors have said Thompson was driving a black Cadillac Escalade on a Minnesota freeway at 95 mph (153 kph) in a 55 mph- (89 kph-) speed zone and abruptly cut across four lanes of traffic to exit the freeway, flying by a state highway patrol trooper. Thompson's defense attorney, Tyler Bliss, raised questions about whether Thompson's brother might have played a role in the crash that authorities did not investigate. The brother was not charged and testified that he didn't drive the SUV the night of the crash and Thompson was the last person he saw behind the wheel. Bliss called that testimony 'self-serving.' Thompson previously served part of an eight-year prison sentence in California in connection with a 2018 hit-and-run accident that severely injured a woman in the Santa Barbara area. He was released from prison there months before the crash in Minneapolis. Court records show that Thompson is the son of a former Democratic state representative from St. Paul who was sharply critical of police during his one term in office.
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Associated Press
Jurors have convicted a Minnesota man of killing 5 young woman in a 2023 vehicle crash
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A state court jury convicted a Minneapolis-area man Friday of third-degree murder and vehicular homicide in the deaths of five young women in a crash that authorities said was caused by him speeding, running a red light and slamming into their car. Jurors in Hennepin County District Court deliberated two days before reaching their verdict in the case of Derrick John Thompson, 29, of Brooklyn Park, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported. In November, a federal court jury convicted Thompson on drug and firearms charges because investigators found a handgun, ammunition and illegal drugs in his vehicle after the June 2023 crash, and he is awaiting sentencing in that case. He was convicted Friday of 15 charges and his sentencing is set for July 24. Third-degree murder is unintentionally causing a death through 'eminently dangerous' actions and with 'a depraved mind, without regard for human life.' 'His choices that day scarred many lives and affected an entire community,' Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty told reporters following the verdict, according to KARE-TV. The Minneapolis crash victims — Salma Abdikadir, Siham Adam, Sabiriin Ali, Sahra Gesaade and Sagal Hersi — were between 17 and 20 years old, on their way home from preparations for a friend's wedding. Their deaths sparked sorrow and outage among Minnesota's sizeable Somali American population. Prosecutors have said Thompson was driving a black Cadillac Escalade on a Minnesota freeway at 95 mph (153 kph) in a 55 mph- (89 kph-) speed zone and abruptly cut across four lanes of traffic to exit the freeway, flying by a state highway patrol trooper. Thompson's defense attorney, Tyler Bliss, raised questions about whether Thompson's brother might have played a role in the crash that authorities did not investigate. The brother was not charged and testified that he didn't drive the SUV the night of the crash and Thompson was the last person he saw behind the wheel. Bliss called that testimony 'self-serving.' Thompson previously served part of an eight-year prison sentence in California in connection with a 2018 hit-and-run accident that severely injured a woman in the Santa Barbara area. He was released from prison there months before the crash in Minneapolis. Court records show that Thompson is the son of a former Democratic state representative from St. Paul who was sharply critical of police during his one term in office.
CBS News
27-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Jury selection underway in trial of man charged with killing 5 friends in Minneapolis crash
Jury selection is underway on Monday in the trial of the son of a former Minnesota lawmaker who's accused of killing five young women in a 2023 crash in Minneapolis. Derrick Thompson, 29, is charged in Hennepin County with 15 felonies in connection to the deadly crash on the night of June 16, 2023, including multiple counts of third-degree murder and criminal vehicular homicide. The crash killed five friends: Salma Abdikadir, 20 Sabiriin Ali, 17 Sahra Gesaade, 20 Sagal Hersi, 19 Siham Odhowa, 19 WCCO According to the criminal complaint, a state trooper spotted Thompson on Interstate 35W driving erratically and at speeds approaching 100 mph. The trooper, who said they didn't have their emergency lights activated, said Thompson then cut over several lanes of traffic and exited at high speed onto East Lake Street. Surveillance cameras captured the SUV speeding through a red light and crashing into a Honda Civic that was carrying the friends. Thompson then fled the SUV on foot and into an alley, the criminal complaint states. Police officers soon found him, drenched in sweat and blood, sitting on a curb outside a fast food restaurant. Court of Appeals rules against use of 2018 crash evidence The trial kicks off just days after the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that prosecutors can't admit evidence related to Thompson's conviction in a separate crash case in California in 2018. In that case, Thompson struck a pedestrian while fleeing Ventura police at high speeds. He then fled on foot, with officers later finding 17 pounds of marijuana and $20,000 in cash inside his vehicle. The victim in that crash spent 20 days in a coma after suffering life-altering injuries. Thompson was sentenced to eight years in a prison but was released early after training and working as a firefighter in California's Conservation Camps program. His driver's license was reinstated about three months before the deadly Minneapolis crash. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty released a statement following the Court of Appeals' decision, saying she's "confident the admissible evidence will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Thompson is guilty." Derrick Thompson HCSO Thompson convicted of federal drug, gun crimes Thompson was convicted in federal court in October 2024 of several drug-related crimes in connection to the crash, including possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute, being a felon in illegal possession of a firearm and carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. Court documents in that case showed Thompson had rented the SUV at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport less than an hour before the crash. Inside the vehicle, police found a loaded handgun with an extended magazine; more than 2,000 fentanyl pills; cocaine; MDMA and other paraphernalia. Thompson was sentenced to eight years in this case. Thompson rejected plea deal before murder charges added In August 2024, Thompson rejected a proposed plea deal from the Hennepin County Attorney's Office and insisted on a criminal trial. Weeks later, the office added several third-degree murder charges to his case due to his "lengthy record of dangerous driving, the trail of devastation he's left in his wake, and his conduct in this case." Thompson is the son of former Minnesota State Rep. John Thompson, a close friend of Philando Castile who served one scandal-laden term representing St. Paul's District 67A before losing reelection in a landslide. NOTE: The original airdate of the video attached to this article is May 20, 2025.
