Four charged with second degree murder in Prior Lake killing

(From left to right) Derrick Zechariah Smith, Brandy Lee Jaques, Tyrel Lamar Patterson, Jonte Glenn Robinson were charged with second degree murder for the murder of a Prior Lake man.

All four suspects in connection to a Prior Lake murder on tribal land that culminated in an officer-involved shooting in Edina are charged with second degree murder, according to the Scott County Attorney’s Office.

39-year-old Brandy Lee Jaques, 27-year-old Jonte Glenn Robinson, 28-year-old Derrick Zechariah Smith and 27-year-old Tyrel Lamar Patterson also received charges of first degree aggravated robbery, burglary in the first degree with possession of weapon and burglary in the first degree. On Monday, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office charged Smith with first-degree assault-use of deadly force against a police officer.

According to the criminal complaint, Robinson told police he had planned to go to Mystic Lake Casino with Patterson that night. The two men then met up with Jaques and Smith when they all decided they wanted to get more marijuana. Jaques drove to a neighborhood near the casino and they stopped along the 2100 block of Sioux Trail by the house and went inside. At that time, only Smith had a gun.

Witnesses told police the suspects asked where the owner of the house, James Herron, was. When they found out he was sleeping, they went to the bedroom and shot him. They then brought him out to the room where everyone else was and asked him where the money was. When he refused to tell them, one suspect shot him in the head.

According to witness statements, at that point one of the suspects said, “I didn’t think we were going to shoot anybody.”

After the shooting, Robinson ran away from the house until he encountered construction workers and told them to call 911.

According to a police interview, Robinson said either Smith or Patterson shot the gun at Herron. He said Patterson had taken a gun from a person in the garage during the incident.

Jaques, Smith and Patterson left together in the car, leading officers on a police chase that ended in Edina. The suspects left the car and started running away.

According to the complaint, Smith shot at police, who shot back and injured him. Smith received medical treatment, and responders took him to the hospital. Officers found several bags of marijuana, a box of condoms and a tablet in Smith’s pants. They also found two handguns near Smith.

Officers caught Jaques and Patterson and took them into custody.

When police searched Patterson, they found a large amount of money in his pockets. Patterson later told police he took a watch and bracelet from a man in the garage of the Prior Lake home.

When officers met with Smith in the hospital he told them “I haven’t got the heart to kill nobody” and “A man lost his life over some f------ weed.”

FIRST REPORT: Murder investigation leads to officer-involved shooting in Edina