Man, 20, Charged With Murder For Shooting North Mpls. Grandmother
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) A 20-year-old Minneapolis man is accused of fatally shooting a grandmother while attempting to shoot a rival gang member, according to charges filed in Hennepin County.
On Tuesday, Joshua Chiazor Ezeka was charged with two counts of second-degree murder – with intent but not premeditated -- in the shooting death of 58-year-old Birdell Beeks on May 26, 2016.
Beeks was shot as she was driving with her 16-year-old granddaughter at the intersection of 21st and Penn avenues in north Minneapolis.
According to the criminal complaint, Ezeka, a gang member, was told that a rival gang member was approaching the area in a car. Shortly after, Ezeka grabbed a gun, ran out of his house, towards the car and began firing multiple times.
He was about 30 yards away when he fired his gun. Some of the bullets struck the rival gang member's car, but others struck Beeks' car, fatally striking Beeks.
Ezeka allegedly then fled from the area in a car with a co-defendant, who has an active warrant pending. Ezeka is now in custody without bail for a probation violation. If convicted, he faces up 40 years in prison.
After Ezeka's first court appearance, Birdell Beeks' daughter, Sa'Lesha Beeks, said she feels her family can now begin the healing process.
"I wanted justice for my mom, and I got that," Sa'Lesha Beeks said.
Since the murder, the Beeks family has held several events to raise awareness about gun violence in Minneapolis.
The family said it knew people saw what happened but many witnesses were afraid to come forward in fear of retaliation. The family even went door-to-door to seek answers.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman and the Minneapolis Police Department credited the Beeks family for keeping attention on the case.
According to the defendant's own words in court, his address is less than 500 feet away from where Beeks was killed.
"It is sad to think you are 20 years old and you can take the life of anyone, an innocent bystander and wait eight months and never speak up," Sa'Lesha Beeks said. "You don't value life and I don't think the court should value yours."
The Beeks family said it will continue efforts to get more cameras placed around the city of Minneapolis, since so many witnesses are afraid to come forward.
In a news conference Tuesday afternoon, County Attorney Mike Freeman reiterated his position on witnesses in violent crime cases.
"If people don't help us," he said, "we can't do our jobs."
