Deshaun Hill killing: Request to move retrial venue for accused shooter denied

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - An effort to move the venue of a retrial for a man previously convicted of fatally shooting a north Minneapolis teenager was struck down in court.

Defense attorneys for Cody Logan Fohrenkam, 32, was convicted of second-degree murder for the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Deshaun Hill before an appeals court reversed the decision. 

A new trial date has not been set, but an omnibus hearing is set for the afternoon of June 9. The previous trial start date of April 29 was canceled. 

READ MORE: Deshaun Hill killing: Defense wants retrial moved out of Hennepin County

Defense wanted trial moved 

What they're saying:

The legal team representing Fohrenkam argued that he could not get a fair trial in Minneapolis because of the overwhelming and "prejudicial" news coverage of the case. 

Defense attorneys also argue that "inflammatory" comments made by the Hennepin County Attorney's Office likely tainted the local jury pool since Fohrenkam’s second-degree murder conviction and 38-and-a-half-year prison sentence was tossed out on appeal.

READ MORE: Deshaun Hill killing: Prosecutors fight for critical evidence in upcoming retrial

New trial for Cody Fohrenkam

Dig deeper:

The Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed the conviction of Cody Fohrenkam, citing in part that the prosecutors "committed prejudicial misconduct during arguments" and that the state failed to show Forhenkam’s statements were lawfully obtained.

In the appeal, Fohrenkam argued incriminating statements were made while he was unconstitutionally detained for a custodial interrogation. 

The state says Fohrenkam’s post-release detention was "merely the result of an administrative delay associated with standard release procedures". 

Deshaun Hill killing

The backstory:

Hill, a standout student-athlete at Minneapolis North High School, was shot and killed on Feb. 9, 2022.

Neighborhood surveillance video captured Hill, in a walking boot from a prior injury, brush past the shooter several blocks from the North High campus in the middle of the day.

At the time, authorities said the two were close enough to "possibly brush shoulders." The shooter then appeared to pause, turn and fire three shots before running away. Fohrenkam was subsequently arrested, charged, and convicted of Hill’s murder. A judge called Forhenkam's actions "senseless" before sentencing him to 38.5 years in prison.

But last year, the Minnesota Court of Appeals tossed out Fohrenkam’s conviction after finding his constitutional rights were violated at trial in part because of the prosecution’s use of a videotaped police interview conducted by detectives in the days following the slaying. 

The Court of Appeals found Fohrenkam was illegally detained on a separate matter by authorities in Carlton County, who continued to hold him until Minneapolis investigators could arrive and question him about the deadly shooting.

A jury watched the full 19-minute interrogation during the trial before taking less than an hour to convict.

The court ruled in part, "the state has failed to satisfy its burden of showing that Fohrenkam’s continued detention was lawful. And because Fohrenkam made his incriminating statements during this period of continued detention —which the state never justified by presenting evidence explaining the basis for such conduct — Fohrenkam’s statements must be suppressed as the product of an unlawful seizure."