Jonell Butler Sentenced To 16 Years For Robbery Spree, Shooting Musician

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Minneapolis man charged in connection with a string of robberies and the shooting of a local musician was sentenced to 16 years in prison, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Monday.

Jonell Butler, 35, pleaded guilty on Aug. 1 to four separate robberies and an assault that took place Sept. 8, Oct. 5 and Oct. 6 of 2018 in different neighborhoods of Minneapolis. The driver of an SUV connected to two of the robberies, Natalie Box, 38, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting first-degree assault and aiding and abetting first-degree robbery. She was sentenced in June to more than six years in prison.

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According to the complaint, the first incident occurred Sept. 8 when Butler threatened a man, putting a gun to his throat and forcing him out of his own car.

Butler resumed his spree on the night of Oct. 5, when he encountered local musician Aaron Lee Hix and his girlfriend, who were walking to the 331 Club in northeast Minneapolis. After Butler robbed them both, he shot Hix in the abdomen and fled.

He would go on to rob two more groups of people over a span of about four hours, taking wallets, cash and cellphones.