Drive-By Shooter Pleads Guilty To Murder
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A Minneapolis man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder after a drive-by shooting last year.
Stevevontae Dellshawn Champion, 22, pleaded guilty to the intentional murder of 40-year-old Roderick Evans after police say he fired nine shots at a group of people in a residential neighborhood on May 11, 2017.
According to court documents, police were called to a shooting near 37th Avenue North and Sixth Street where officers found Evans lying in the street and bleeding heavily through his shirt. He was dead when paramedics arrived.
Police said witnesses told them a minivan slowed down as it came upon Evans and others standing outside near the intersection and the rear sliding door was open. One of the three men inside the van was wearing a black ski mask and began shooting from the open sliding door, according to a criminal complaint.
Police found Champion's DNA on a gun matching casings found at the scene, the ski mask and the grab handle above the minivan's sliding door.
Champion's sentencing is slated for Sept. 17.
"When Mr. Champion is sentenced next month, we will be asking for the maximum of 32.5 years for this senseless act of violence," said Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman.
