Amir Locke's cousin charged in St. Paul homicide investigation that led to Minneapolis police shooting
Feb. 8—A teen is under arrest and charged in a St. Paul homicide — the case that prompted police to carry out search warrants last week, during which a Minneapolis officer fatally shot Amir Locke.
Mekhi Camden Speed, of Minneapolis, was a cousin of Locke's, according to second-degree murder charges filed against Speed.
Police announced Tuesday they took Speed into custody in connection with the Jan. 10 fatal shooting of Otis R. Elder, 38. Elder was found lying in the street in the 500 block of North Prior Avenue, between University Avenue and Interstate 94, in St. Paul. The charges allege Elder was shot during a robbery or attempted robbery.
Speed lived in Bolero Flats, the apartment building in downtown Minneapolis where police served the search warrants last week and where an officer shot Locke. Locke, 22, was not named in the search warrants, Interim Minneapolis Police Chief Amelia Huffman said last week.
"All available information confirms that Amir was never a target of that investigation or those search warrants," the Locke family's attorneys, Ben Crump, Jeff Storms and Antonio Romanucci, said in a Tuesday statement. "We must remain focused on the fact that Amir was an innocent young man of a raid gone terribly wrong, who is now the latest statistic and victim of the dangerous and intrusive no-knock warrant techniques that must be banned."
SEARCH WARRANTS
The search warrants that police obtained were for three apartments in Bolero Flats at 1117 Marquette Ave. One was for Speed's brother's girlfriend's apartment, for which Speed also had a key, according to the petition. Speed's brother, his girlfriend and Locke were present when police entered to search at 6:48 a.m. on Feb. 2.
Other search warrants were for the apartment where Speed resided with his mother, and for an apartment where a friend of Speed's was associated; the three were not there during the searches.
Police had "probable cause pick up and holds" to arrest Speed and two of his associates for murder and aiding an offender after the fact, according to the juvenile petition against Speed.
St. Paul police sought a "knock and announce" warrant, but Minneapolis police said they would not execute the warrant unless it was "no knock," after which St. Paul rewrote the warrant and a judge signed off on it, law enforcement sources said Friday.
Minneapolis police said Locke pointed a loaded gun "in the direction of officers" after they used a key to enter the apartment and announced their presence. Locke's parents said Friday that the Minneapolis SWAT team had woken him; they said he was law-abiding, with no criminal record, and had a permit to carry a gun.
AFTER SHOOTING, STOLEN VEHICLE FOUND IN MINNEAPOLIS
The Ramsey County attorney's office is seeking to have Speed stand trial as an adult. A juvenile court petition details the allegations against him:
Elder was found shot near a Chevrolet Tahoe at about 9:30 p.m. on Jan. 10. The driver's side door was open, and there was loose cash and suspected marijuana in the front of the vehicle. There was a large amount of blood on the driver's seat, driver's door and arm rest, along with a spent shell casing on the ground near the driver's door.
Someone who was talking to Elder on the phone when he was shot told police "that it sounded as if Elder was conducting a drug transaction and that someone was sitting in the front seat of Elder's car," the court petition said. "... The witness heard what sounded like a struggle. The witness heard a male state, 'If you do not give it up, pop the ------.' The phone call then abruptly ended."
Another person saw a Mercedes-Benz speeding away.
An investigator obtained a video that showed a vehicle, later determined to be the Mercedes-Benz, park near Elder's vehicle at 9:20 p.m. Two males left the Mercedes — one went in the passenger side of Elder's vehicle and the other stood outside the driver's door, where Elder was sitting. The male stepped back and a loud gunshot was heard. He then opened Elder's door, and picked up items from the ground and inside the vehicle. He and the other male ran back to the Mercedes.
Police found the vehicle on Jan. 21 in a downtown parking ramp near Bolero Flats.
Investigators suspect the Mercedes-Benz, which was stolen in November, was used in previous crimes — it was linked to Dec. 6 and Dec. 28 armed robberies, an attempted armed robbery on Dec. 28, a gun report on Dec. 28, a police pursuit on Dec. 28 and a theft on Jan. 4.
SUSPECT IDENTIFIED
Police reviewed videos that showed the Mercedes-Benz pulled up to Bolero Flats at 9:38 p.m. on Jan. 10. Soon after, someone parked the vehicle in the parking ramp and males exited. The male suspected of shooting Elder was seen wearing a dark jacket and used a key to get into Bolero Flats.
Investigators talked with people at Bolero Flats on Jan. 24, who identified the male seen in the video as Speed, according to the petition. He was listed as being an occupant of his mother's apartment in the building. A person who returned with Speed was identified as being associated with another apartment in the building, which is also where police searched last week.
During the search at the apartment where Speed's brother, his girlfriend and Locke were staying, investigators seized a jacket that appeared to be what Speed was wearing when he exited the vehicle at the parking ramp, according to the petition. Officers found a bullet and marijuana in the apartment, along with a gun in Locke's possession.
A latent fingerprint found on a door of the Mercedes-Benz was identified as Speed's, the petition said.
At the apartment where Speed and his mother were listed as occupants, investigators found a jacket that appeared to be the one worn by an unidentified male who was with Speed when he went to Bolero Flats after Elder was shot. Investigators believe the male was the person who sat in the front passenger seat of Elder's vehicle.
As of Tuesday afternoon, police had not arrested anyone else in the homicide, which they said remains an open and active investigation.
ARREST BRINGS RELIEF TO FAMILY OF MAN SHOT IN ST. PAUL
Officers tried to find Speed starting on Jan. 24, surveilling his residence and other places he spent time, and contacting his mother and probation officer.
On Monday, Speed was located in Winona about 3:45 p.m. He was a passenger in a vehicle, which officers found at a gas station, according to Winona police.
He tried to run away and an officer grabbed his jacket, which he struggled out of. Police arrested him and found a loaded gun in his jacket, according to the petition. Speed was taken to the Ramsey County Juvenile Detention Center. He did not speak with investigators.
Elder's mother, Shandra McKinley, said she was feeling a little better Tuesday after getting word of the arrest.
"I thank God because he did not deserve this," she said.
Elder was the father of two sons, ages 1 and 14, who his family says he loved and cared for.
"He was the absolute best brother ever, he just had so much to live for," said a sister, Motika Elder. "And I know finding the shooter will not bring my brother back but it definitely put my heart at ease."
ON PROBATION FOR PAST SHOOTING
Speed's family hadn't decided Tuesday which attorney would represent him and his first court appearance was rescheduled for next week.
Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Heidi Westby requested on Tuesday that Judge Stephen Smith order Speed remain in detention, which Smith agreed to. Based on the allegations of the petition, there are "sufficient grounds to be concerned for public safety," Smith said.
Speed was on supervised probation after pleading guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon for shooting another male in Brooklyn Park in September 2020, according to court records. Speed, who was 16 at the time, was sentenced under what is known as extended juvenile jurisdiction, which means he was given both an adult and juvenile sentence.
His adult sentence of three years in prison was put on hold as long as he followed terms of his probation. He was placed on probation until age 21, and spent time at the West Regional Juvenile Center in northwestern Minnesota, where he was to take part in an individualized treatment program, including skills training and trauma therapy.
Records show he violated probation last summer — including for testing positive for marijuana and for failing to attend school regularly — and he was placed in his mother's custody last October and put on electronic monitoring for 30 days, with furloughs to attend school.
This story contains information from the Associated Press.
