Gun Seized In Traffic Stop Linked To NE Minneapolis Murder
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A gun found during a routine traffic stop in north Minneapolis led to charges in an unsolved northeast Minneapolis murder.
Eulalio Gonzalez-Sanchez, 36, had just gotten off a city bus near 22nd Avenue Northeast and 7th Street Northeast back in September.
It was early on a Sunday morning when he was shot and killed. Investigators believe it was a robbery gone bad.
Minneapolis Police homicide detectives say they had very little to go on. There were no witnesses to the shooting.
All investigators had were shell casings from the gun used in the crime. It didn't take them long to match those casings to a gun and the person they believe pulled the trigger.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman says the murder of Gonzalez-Sanchez was senseless, and sent waves of fear throughout the community.
"[He] gets off the bus on Sunday morning and gets shot and killed for his cell phone, apparently," Freeman said. "All they had were some shell casings and no witnesses."
Freeman says great police work led to the arrest of 20-year-old Jeremiah Blackwell. Investigators believe he may be responsible for robbery as well as murder.
Blackwell was accused of robbing someone for their cell phone a little more than a week after the murder of Gonzalez-Sanchez.
The next day, police pulled over a vehicle with Blackwell in it. They found a gun inside, according to Cmdr. Catherine Johnson
"Those shell casings from that homicide scene match that firearm that was recovered a couple weeks later in that traffic stop," Johnson said.
She says Blackwell was charged in the robbery the day before the traffic stop in the same general area where Gonzalez-Sanchez was killed.
Investigators say pings from Blackwell's cell phone placed him near the murder scene.
"The recording on the cell phone located that he was very close to the spot where the man was killed just before he was killed," Freeman said.
He says Blackwell told investigators he was nowhere near the murder scene.
"'Oh, I was at church, and call my pastor.' Well, that's the wrong person to ask to lie for you," Freeman said. "His pastor says, 'No, he wasn't in church,' and he said, 'My cell phone was at my friend's house charging.' His friend said he wasn't even here."
Blackwell has not confessed to murder. His family was by his side in court Tuesday. They don't believe he is capable of such a crime.
If convicted, Blackwell could face 30 years in prison. His next court date is Jan. 5.
