3 charged in Minneapolis crime that left neighbor shot in face

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) -
Charges have been filed against three suspects in a Minneapolis crime spree that included two shootings, including a man who got shot in the face when he simply looked out his window.

Charges in Minneapolis crime spree

What we know:

Criminal charges were filed against three teen suspects in the string of crimes in the early morning hours of Feb. 11.

Nineteen-year-old Quayzhon Lewis is facing charges alongside two 17-year-old boys who were charged as juveniles.

Lewis is accused of assault, burglary, and aggravated robbery. One of the underage suspects faces charges of assault, aiding and abetting assault, and attempted aggravated robbery. The other minor faces only aiding and abetting assault and burglary.

The fourth suspect arrested, a 34-year-old man, was released from custody on Wednesday without charges, despite being listed as a co-defendant on one of the court documents.

The backstory:

The complaint lists, in part, some of the crimes the group is accused of committing over the course of a couple of hours.

• 5:04 a.m.: The suspects are accused of breaking into a garage off 25th Avenue South. During the break-in, one of the minors fired shots at a neighbor, who happened to look out his window after hearing a noise.
• 5:16 a.m.: Police responded to a carjacking at gunpoint outside a Speedway near 34th Avenue South and East 51st Street South. A 29-year-old man had his vehicle, a gray Mazda SUV, taken at gunpoint. By 5:30 a.m., a 911 call came in reporting the Mazda had crashed into a lightpole about a mile away from the gas station.
• 5:32 a.m.: Officers responded to a garage break-in that reportedly happened around 30 minutes earlier. This address is around the block from the other garage break-in.
• 5:41 a.m.: Officers responded to East Lake Street near 21st Avenue South for a 25-year-old man who had been shot in the back during another robbery. The Minneapolis Police Department activated its robbery response protocol after this call.
• 5:55 a.m.: Police spot one of the minors getting out of a white Camry involved in the crimes and go into his apartment.
• 6:17 a.m.: A garage break-in was reported on 31st Avenue South near East 49th Street.
• 6:49 a.m.: Police responded to a shots-fired call on 32nd Avenue South near East 49th Street. This is just steps away from the previous call. Police say the suspects were again in a white Camry, parked in an alleyway.
• 7:50 a.m.: After the crime spree, surveillance video shows the white Camry arriving at one of the suspect's homes on the 2400 block of Bloomington Avenue.

Victim reacts to violence

What they're saying:

The neighbor who was shot spoke with FOX 9 this week about the crime.

"I was just in pure shock," said Boyd Hansen. "Shocked and I was sickened by the whole, entire thing."

The bullet broke Hansen's jaw in three places before getting lodged in his shoulder.

"It's still unbelievable," he recounted. "The guy looked up and bang – he shot me."

At a news conference on the day of the crime spree, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara lamented the brazen crime.

"This is a random act of violence [against] someone who simply looked out the window," said O'Hara. "And it does seem like these other crimes are also random, random acts. They are not targeted. Oftentimes, shootings here are targeted. Their personal. It's a result of some sort of dispute or altercation. That's not the case with this."

The chief added: "All this person did in the video we watched was look out the window to see what's going on. If someone becomes the victim of a crime, we always remind people that property can be replaced, your life can't. I don't know what you're supposed to say to somebody that simply looked out the window because they heard a noise and the next thing you know, they're getting shot. That's terrible."

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