BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. — Brooklyn Center police say a man has been charged in the shooting death of a woman last week.
Julius Matease Smith, 24, is charged with second-degree manslaughter by culpable negligence. The charge carries a sentence of up to 10 years and a $20,000 fine.
The complaint alleges police responded to reports of a shooting at a residence near 49th Avenue North and Girard Avenue North near Brooklyn Center on Nov. 11. It further states that when officers arrived, they discovered a red pickup truck with a bullet hole through the windshield and paramedics performing life-saving efforts on an adult woman lying on the ground.
Police announced Monday the woman died over the weekend after suffering a gunshot wound to the head.
According to the complaint, officers began interviews with witnesses on scene, who told them that Smith had been sitting behind the victim in the pickup truck when the shooting occurred. The complaint says two other witnesses who had been in the vehicle also identified Smith as the shooter, but described the shooting as "an accident."
The complaint states Smith's story differed from the other witnesses, telling officers he and the other occupants of the vehicle had been robbed at gunpoint. He allegedly told officers he believed one of the robbers produced a fake gun so he tried to knock it out of his hand, thus causing it to go off and kill the woman.
Prosecutors say police were able to obtain security footage corroborating the story of the other witnesses in the vehicle, while disproving Smith's account.
Smith is currently in custody at the Hennepin County Jail.
