Latest news with #MinnesotaFreedomFund
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Photo Gallery: George Floyd's murder shook Twin Cities five years ago
The murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin five years ago sparked outrage in the Twin Cities and around the world. A widely circulated video, which drew nearly universal condemnation, showed Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck for several minutes on the evening of May 25, 2020, even after the 47-year-old Black man lay motionless beneath him. Protesters gathered the next day at the site of Floyd's death near 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, before marching to the Third Precinct headquarters of the Minneapolis Police Department, where Chauvin worked. The demonstrations would continue nearly nonstop for several days across the Twin Cities, with thousands turning out to protest Floyd's murder and police brutality writ large. Several local officials joined activists in calling for the officers involved in Floyd's death to face criminal charges. For four days, protests devolved into riots when night fell. Along Lake Street in Minneapolis and in the Midway neighborhood of St. Paul, stores were looted and hundreds of buildings damaged — some destroyed — by fire. Each morning, neighbors and business owners gathered to clean up debris and salvage what they could from the previous night's destruction. Among the structures gutted by flames was the Third Precinct itself, which was abandoned by police. On May 29, Chauvin became the first of four officers charged in Floyd's death. That same day, Minnesota National Guard soldiers were deployed on Twin Cities streets, but looting and arson continued. It wasn't until the following evening when an 8 p.m. curfew was implemented for much of the metro that the overnight rioting dropped off, while peaceful protests continued. Joe Soucheray: George Floyd Square is an embarrassment to the man it's supposed to honor Ex-Minneapolis police chief recalls 'absolutely gut-wrenching' moment of seeing George Floyd video George Floyd: Minneapolis, St. Paul events mark his death, community response Justice Department moves to cancel Minneapolis police reform settlement Minnesota Freedom Fund to stop bailing out jailed defendants
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Yahoo
St. Paul man pleads guilty to murdering girlfriend in her downtown apartment
A 56-year-old St. Paul man has pleaded guilty to murdering his girlfriend at her downtown apartment in 2023 and will be given nearly 25 years in prison at his July sentencing. Kelvin Maurice Perry pleaded guilty to second-degree intentional murder on Wednesday after reaching an agreement with the Ramsey County Attorney's Office in the killing of 39-year-old Shaqita Thomas at the Press House apartment building on Nov. 15, 2023. An autopsy determined she'd been asphyxiated. Two minutes after Perry told a childhood friend, 'My girlfriend is gone — she is dead,' he walked in front of a light-rail train and was struck in St. Paul, the criminal complaint says. He was charged with Thomas' murder while hospitalized with serious injuries. Perry entered a Norgaard plea, which means a defendant says they cannot remember what happened because of intoxication or amnesia but acknowledges there is enough evidence for a jury to convict beyond a reasonable doubt. The plea agreement calls for a little over 24½ years in prison. He remains jailed ahead of his July 23 sentencing. Paramedics found Thomas dead in her bedroom after a friend asked the apartment building's property manager to do a wellness check. She was lying face down beneath a blow-up mattress in the bedroom, and had head trauma and small cuts on her body. A friend of Thomas told investigators she had been on a FaceTime video call with her about 11:20 a.m. Nov. 15 and she was crying while a man yelled at her in the background. Thomas told her friend the man was mad at her for spending the night at the emergency room with her estranged husband because of her son's asthma, the complaint says. Thomas' husband, from whom she was separated, said he dropped her off in front of the apartment building on Cedar Street between Fourth and Fifth streets between 10 and 10:30 a.m. Thomas wanted him to leave so there wouldn't be an altercation between him and her boyfriend. An investigator also spoke with a woman Perry had dated. She reported he is a 'very violent, jealous person,' the complaint states. She said she'd talked to a relative of Perry's, who said Perry called people he knew and told them he 'choked' Thomas out. Noah Feldman: David Souter set an example for the Supreme Court Trooper accused of producing child porn faces new charges in federal indictment Minnesota Freedom Fund to stop bailing out jailed defendants Former Tartan band director admits to sexually assaulting DeLaSalle student Witnesses put suspected drunk driver's speed at 90-100 mph before fatal St. Paul crash Surveillance video showed Perry left Thomas' apartment about 12:50 p.m. and that her key fob wasn't used to unlock the door again until it was opened for paramedics two days later. A woman who's known Perry since they were kids said he called her at 11:13 a.m. Nov. 17 and that he 'was crying and panicking' and told her, 'Something is going on,' the complaint says. He asked her to tell his sister he loved her and the call ended. At 11:15 a.m., Perry walked in front of a Green Line train at University and Western avenues in St. Paul. 'Perry has a significant arrest history out of Chicago where he is from and has family,' according to the complaint.
