MINNEAPOLIS - Four people involved in the murder of a Prior Lake man, which led to a high-speed police chase through several metro cities and an officer-involved shooting, are now charged in the incident.
Derrick Zechariah Smith, 28, Brandy Lee Jaques, 39, Tyrel Lamar Patterson, 27, and Jonte Glenn Robinson, 26, are charged with second-degree murder, first-degree aggravated robbery and first-degree burglary in the series of incidents, which began around 2 a.m. on Nov. 23.
Three of the suspects are from Minneapolis; Robinson is from Brooklyn Park.
According to the criminal complaint, officers were dispatched to a home on the 2100 block of Sioux Trail on a call of a shooting. Police were told three suspects were seen at the home, one with a mask. When police arrived, they saw a silver Buick leaving the home at a high rate of speed.
Officers followed the vehicle, which headed north on County Road 83. A Shakopee officer joined the pursuit which eventually continued on to Highway 169 into Bloomington and then Edina. Multiple agencies joined the chase and eventually forced the vehicle off the road at Londonderry Road.
Three suspects left the vehicle and ran, jumping a fence and heading east.
As officers followed, one man, identified as Smith, fired a handgun at the officers. At that point, police returned fire and struck Smith, wounding him. He was taken into custody and brought to Hennepin County Medical Center for treatment.
Charges say officers found several bags of marijuana, a box of condoms and an electronic tablet in Smith's pockets. They also recovered two handguns at the scene.
Jaques, who also ran from the vehicle, was stopped by a K-9 officer before being taken into custody. Police also arrested Patterson near the scene and found a large amount of cash in his pockets.
Officers in Prior Lake entered the home where the shooting was reported and found James Wayne Herron on the floor of the living room with multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to the hospital, where he later died.
Authorities say he was shot in the arm, leg and head.
Two people at the home said Herron was shot by one of the suspects before they took their cell phones and fled the scene. The two people were hiding in a safe room in the basement when police arrived.
One witness said three men and a woman came into the home wearing masks. One man, armed with a gun, forced everyone in the home into the living room and ordered them to lay on the floor. He asked where Herron was before heading into a bedroom. The witness said he heard a gunshot then forced Herron into the living room and asked, "Where's the money?" He said the gunman fired two more times and he ran to the garage.
Another masked suspect caught up to him and made him lay on the steps of the home, before taking his necklace and $2,000 in cash from his wallet. The witness said when he thought the suspects were gone, he called 911.
Officers were later notified that the fourth suspect, identified as Robinson, was near the crime scene. In an interview with police, he told an officer he was planning to go to Mystic that night with his friend and two others. He said they stopped at a residence and put on masks. When he heard a gunshot, he ran out of the home. He was taken into custody in Prior Lake.
