Charges: Derrick Blanton Fatally Shot Romantic Rival In Front Of 4-Year-Old Son
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Minneapolis man is charged with shooting his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend to death in front of his young son in a Stevens Square apartment Sunday afternoon.
The Hennepin County Attorney's office says Derrick Blanton, 38, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of 29-year-old Isiah Smith.
The criminal complaint says Blanton and his 4-year-old son were visiting his girlfriend at her apartment on the 1900 block of 1st Avenue South. She left the apartment at one point to drop her child off at her mother's residence, and Smith -- the father of her child -- arrived unannounced soon after.
Blanton told investigators he has problems with Smith, and they got in to a physical altercation, which ultimately led to him shooting Smith five times -- including once in the back. Blanton, his son and a friend then fled the building and sped away in a black Dodge Charger. He later threw the gun out of his car window in south Minneapolis.
The girlfriend told investigators she arrived back at the apartment about 15 minutes after leaving, where she found Smith lying face down in a pool of blood. She also told police Blanton had recently been feuding with Smith, who regularly made unannounced visits to her apartment.
Blanton will make his first court appearance Friday. The Hennepin County Attorney's office is seeking to set his bail at $1 million.
He could face up to 40 years in prison if convicted.
