Three men charged in drive-by shooting at Maplewood apartment complex

Nick Ferraro, Pioneer Press
·2 min read
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Three men have been charged in last week’s drive-by shooting in which nearly four dozen gunshots were fired at two Maplewood apartment buildings.

Several bullets went through windows and walls of the buildings along Clarence Street North, and three vehicles also were struck by the gunfire, according to charges. No one was injured.

The trio then led police on a high-speed chase in a stolen Dodge Charger from Maplewood to St. Anthony, where they crashed into a utility pole and ran. Officers soon arrested them, while also recovering four Glock handguns, three of which were stolen, near the crash scene, according to the charges.

Elias-Kareem Hany Aly, 20, of St. Paul, Davion Lazarick Gaines, 20, of Minneapolis, and De’Voncea Lashoun Griffo, 23, of Little Canada, were charged in Ramsey County District Court with drive-by shooting-toward an occupied vehicle or building in connection with the June 13 incident.

Aly and Griffo also each face possession of a firearm or ammunition by an ineligible person.

Officers were dispatched to the apartment complex around 1:50 p.m. on multiple reports of shots fired. Police recovered 44 shell casings with at least two different calibers and multiple bullet fragments.

Witnesses told police the gunfire came from a black Dodge Charger that had several males inside. Surveillance video caught the sound of rapid-fire gunshots as the car circled the apartment buildings.

Witnesses said it appeared the shooting was directed at someone in one of the cars that took the gunfire.

A Minnesota State Patrol trooper saw the Charger on White Bear Avenue and followed with emergency lights and sirens. The driver sped away and drove onto westbound Interstate 94.

The car continued at a high rate of speed, passing vehicles on the shoulder, before going north on Interstate 35E at more than 100 mph, according to charges.

It then went west on Interstate 694 and south on Silver Lake Road and crashed into a utility pole at Stinson Boulevard and Cottage Lane, coming to a stop in front of a townhouse.

The three suspects fled from the car, which police learned had been stolen in Minneapolis earlier in the day. They were arrested near the crash scene.

Two of the four handguns officers recovered had “switches,” which convert firearms to fully automatic weapons, and also extended magazines. Another had a 50‐round drum magazine.

According to court records, Aly has three previous convictions: fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance, driving while impaired and possession of marijuana in a motor vehicle.

Gaines was convicted of tampering with a motor vehicle last year.

Griffo has a previous conviction of possession of a firearm by an ineligible person and a pending case of fleeing police in a motor vehicle, according to last week’s charges.

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