Minneapolis Teenager Charged With Wild Shootout
Minneapolis (KROC AM News) - A teenager who was involved in a high-speed police chase in the Twin Cities was also involved in a shooting that was reminiscent of the Wild West.
The Minnesota BCA says 19-year-old Jovan Knight was apprehended on Feb 19th after the extended pursuit.
The BCA says a trooper tried to pull Knight over for speeding but he took off at a high rate of speed “across the metro” and a State Patrol helicopter was used to track him down. He ditched his vehicle and fled on foot but was caught in Minneapolis.
Authorities had been looking for the homeless teenager for his role in a shooting in November that took place at a busy Minneapolis intersection near a convenience store.
The complaint says Knight began shooting at another person who ran between vehicles at the store to avoid being hit. The complaint says a 15-year-old and others who were with Knight also began shooting and “seemed to fire indiscriminately and in random directions.” At least one innocent bystander was hit by gunfire. Knight also faces charges in several other pending cases.
The shooting he was involved in was one of six that happened in Minneapolis in a 24 hour period that left at least 8 people injured.
The BCA assisted the MPD in the investigation as part of an ongoing partnership to address violent crime.
Here is the criminal complaint in the case:
On November 7, 2021, at approximately 0214 hours, a shooting occurred in the area of West 22nd Street and Lyndale Ave South, in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota. BCA Special Agent Brandon Johnson was assigned to assist Minneapolis PD with the investigation. The shooting involved a group of at least eight males, six of whom either carried weapons or fired shots. SA Johnson obtained surveillance footage from area businesses which covered the four corners of the intersection, as well as the interior of the Speedway located on the southwest corner. The videos showed a group of people who arrived in the area together in three separate cars who then parked their vehicles and walked to the Speedway gas station together. While several members of this group wore hoods and masks while inside the store, some didn’t, and video footage of their faces was captured by the cameras. One member of this group wore a white hoodie with a distinctive photo buttons on the right chest of his sweatshirt. This individual identified this male as Defendant JOVAN JOSHUA KNIGHT, born August 25, 2002. Defendant’s appearance matches his appearance in a picture posted to his Instagram account four days after this incident. In addition, officers were also able to identify several other associates captured on surveillance camera, including a known 15-year-old co-respondent male. Prior bad acts and police contacts indicate that these associates have engaged in other criminal acts together, further corroborating their identification here. The group lingered inside and outside of the gas station interacting with each other for several minutes before making their way to the intersection of 22nd and Lyndale. Based on the video surveillance, group saw a person of interest to them (Person 1) and moved to the area where Person 1 had been standing on the northwest corner of the intersection. Person 1 saw the group with Defendant approaching and began moving away, up 22nd Street and in between vehicles. Video surveillance photos did not show Person 1 with any weapon. As the group neared the northwest corner of the intersection where Person 1 had been standing, several of the group appeared to remove handguns from their pockets and took up a position of cover at the corner of the building. After a few moments, Defendant walked into the intersection and began shooting in the direction of Person 1. Surveillance video shows Defendant moved in flanking position relative to Person 1 and fires several shots as Defendant runs through the Speedway parking lot, weaving through vehicles. Defendant then gets back into an SUV vehicle in the driver’s seats, waits to pick-up another accomplice, and then flees the shooting, all of which occurred in a busy public intersection.
When the shooting started, video captured the 15-year-old co-respondent crossing Lyndale to the east and taking cover behind a vehicle in front of the Wedge Co-op. From there, the male took a firing stance and fired three separate volley from a fully automatic pistol towards the intersection. MPD crime lab recovered 17 discarded cartridge casings (9mm) from the area where the co-respondent fired. When the shooting started, an uninvolved person walking home was at the southwest corner of the intersection in front of Speedway, and appeared to be struck by the gunfire. During the shooting, other members of Defendant’s group also fired handguns from various positions in or near the intersection, and seemed to fire indiscriminately and in random directions. Person 1 and the vehicle had been standing next to had fled, but other persons not involved were still in the area, and one was struck on the lower back next to the spine. That victim was transported to HCMC via ambulance.
Defendant has numerous pending cases, including a first degree Burglary from November 9, 2020 (MNCIS No. 19HA-CR-21-313); a first degree Burglary from December 7, 2020 (MNCIS No. 19HA-CR-21-685); a third degree Drug Sale from November 16, 2021 (27-CR-21-21375); a Fleeing in a Motor Vehicle from
October 27, 2021 (27-CR-21-20067); a Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm from January 7, 2021 (27-CR-21-527); and a Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm with a pending certification motion (27-JV-21-2618).
Defendant has numerous prior adjudications, including: a first degree Burglary from April 17, 2019 (27-JV19-3557); a felony Fleeing in a Motor Vehicle and felony Theft from April 17, 2019 (27-JV-19-2508); a felony Theft and a felony Escape from Custody on June 6, 2019 (27-JV-19-2510); a felony Theft from June 5, 2019 (27-JV-20-3569); a felony first degree Burglary from June 5, 2019 (27-JV-20-3570); and a Fleeing in a Motor Vehicle from June 19, 2020 (27-JV-20-4055).
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