MINNEAPOLIS — A man charged in the shooting death of an off-duty firefighter pleaded guilty Tuesday to illegally possessing a firearm.
Marquise Hammonds-Ford entered the guilty plea Tuesday, and will be sentenced Wednesday, Oct. 9. As part of the plea, the other charges, including first-degree rioting, were dropped.
Hammonds-Ford was charged back in May for his role in the shooting death of Joseph C. Johns, who served as a career firefighter with the Eagan Fire Department since Jan. 2020. He also served as a duty-crew firefighter with the Eden Prairie Fire Department since Sept. 2015.
According to the criminal complaint, Johns was in a bar on the 900 block of Cedar Avenue South on May 5 when he was caught in the crossfire of a shootout.
Court documents said hundreds were gathered at the bar into Saturday night and Sunday morning to celebrate the founding of a local motorcycle club, of which Johns was a member when shots rang out just after midnight following an alleged altercation between two groups on opposite sides of the bar.
The complaint said investigators found 63 discharged cartridge casings in front of the bar and determined the spent casings came from at least seven separate firearms.