AP-US-ABANDONED-SUV-BODIES

Charges: Man "snapped," killed 4, then left bodies in field

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — An Arizona man who allegedly told his father he “snapped and shot a couple of people” was charged Tuesday with murder, about a week after four bodies were found in an abandoned SUV in western Wisconsin. Antoine Suggs, 38, of Scottsdale, Arizona, faces four counts of second-degree intentional murder, without premeditation. Suggs is jailed in Arizona, awaiting extradition to Minnesota. Suggs’ father, 56-year-old Darren McWright, who also goes by the last name Osborne, has been charged in Wisconsin with four counts of hiding a corpse.

FATAL SHOOTING-HIBBING

Defendant guilty in fatal shooting in Hibbing in 2018

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — A judge has found a defendant accused of fatally shooting one man and injuring another in Hibbing nearly three years ago guilty of murder and assault. Jerome Spann waived his right to a jury trial and opted for a judge to decide his case. A court trial ended in August and Judge Rachel Sullivan issued her ruling Monday. Prosecutors allege that Spann exited an SUV Christmas night of 2018 and fired into a group of people standing outside a residence in Hibbing. A man with whom Spann had a dispute, 34-year-old Jeryel McBeth, was fatally shot and another man was wounded.

BAR ASSAULT-TEENS

Three Minnesota teens beaten with gun at Sioux Falls bar

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Police say three teenagers from Minnesota were beaten with a gun at a bar in Sioux Falls, which caused severe head injuries to one of the victims. police said. Sioux Falls police spokesman Sam Clemens says the assaults took place Sunday about 1 a.m. at an unnamed bar where two boys and a girl were beaten with a gun after an altercation with two men. The teens were transported to the hospital with injuries. The youngest teen, a 15-year-old boy, suffered serve head injuries that required staples. The other victims include a 16-year-old boy and 17-year-old girl. Their hometowns were not released. The suspects were not found.

REAL ESTATE AGENT KILLED

Ex-probation officer convicted in real estate agent killing

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A former probation officer has been found guilty for her role in the kidnapping and killing of a Minneapolis real estate agent. Jurors in Hennepin County on Monday found 29-year-old Elsa Segura guilty of luring Monique Baugh to a bogus home showing in Maple Grove on Dec. 31, 2019, and aiding in the kidnapping and murder of the victim. Segura’s attorney, Amanda Montgomery, told jurors her client had no knowledge of a plot, and that the prosecution’s case was speculation. Investigators say two men convicted in the case were part of a scheme aimed at getting to Baugh’s boyfriend, who had a feud with a former business associate and drug dealer. Baugh’s boyfriend was shot and wounded during an altercation after Baugh was kidnapped.

FAKE FEDERAL AGENT

Minnesota man with history of imitating police busted again

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota man with a history of pretending to be a police officer is accused in federal court of falsely claiming to be a federal agent. Authorities said in a complaint filed Friday that 52-year-old Reyel Devon Simmons, of Dodge Center, used the fake name “Rey Reeves” and regularly held himself out as a federal agent on social media. He had more than 10,000 followers on TikTok, including one woman from Georgia who began a romantic relationship with Simmons. The woman told investigators he regularly carried a handgun in a holster on his hip and carried a badge and law enforcement credentials. She was eventually alerted about the ruse by another TikTok user.

LAWMAKER ASSAULTED-WIFE CHARGED

Minnesota state lawmaker's wife accused of assaulting him

CHISHOLM, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota state lawmaker’s wife is accused of hitting him with a broom handle and threatening him with a knife at their home on the Iron Range over the weekend. Charlotte A. Tomassoni is charged with misdemeanor domestic assault and booked into the St. Louis County Jail after the incident early Sunday evening. Her husband, David Tomassoni, is an independent who serves as president pro tem of the Senate. The Star Tribune reports that he called police after his wife repeatedly hit him in the chest with a broom handle at their Chisholm home. She later yelled down that if David came upstairs, she would stab him. Police say she “was slurring her words and appeared to be intoxicated." She denied the assault.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MINNESOTA

Minnesota virus hospitalizations reach highest mark of 2021

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota reached 757 patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 on Friday. The hospitalizations are the highest of figure of 2021 so far as the more contagious delta variant continues to pose a threat to the state’s handle on the virus. The total includes 230 patients in intensive care, which is the most since late December. Intensive care capacity has been hovering around 95% statewide in recent weeks, with regular beds nearly 92% full, according to state hospital capacity data. Essentia Health reinstated visitor restrictions at their facilities on Monday, citing increasing virus transmission.

POLICE SHOOTING-MINNEAPOLIS-NOOR-EXPLAINER

EXPLAINER: New charge unlikely for ex-cops in Floyd death

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the third-degree murder conviction of a former Minneapolis police officer won’t change the cases against the three former officers charged in George Floyd’s death. Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao are charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting manslaughter. Legal experts say last week’s ruling makes it highly unlikely that a charge of aiding and abetting third-degree murder would be added. The court last week threw out the third-degree murder conviction of Mohamed Noor, the former Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot Justine Ruszczyk Damond in 2017. Noor remains convicted of manslaughter and will be sentenced on that count.

News from © The Associated Press, 2021