Mpls. ShotSpotter System Gets First Murder Conviction
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Hennepin County jury has convicted a Minneapolis man of murder, after police were able to catch him thanks to ShotSpotter cameras.
Christopher Hayes, 24, was found guilty of first-degree murder and immediately sentenced to life in prison for killing 21-year-old Christopher Roy DeRonde on Sept. 17, 2010.
Minneapolis homicide investigators say their gunshot detection equipment heard gunfire at 30th and Colfax Avenue North at the time of the shooting. The ShotSpotter System triggered surveillance cameras to turn toward the shooting. The cameras captured video of a getaway car leaving the scene.
Police located that vehicle, which eventually led them to arrest Hayes.
At the time of the incident, police said the 150 cameras and Shot-Spotter equipment have helped them before, but this is first time they were the key pieces to solve a true mystery with no good clues.
