MAPLE GROVE, Minn. (FOX 9) - A man appears to pull a gun from his "man purse" before opening fire inside the Benihana restaurant in Maple Grove, leaving one person shot through the groin last month, a new criminal complaint details.
Charges filed in Maple Grove Benihana shooting
What we know:
Deontae Creshaun Allen Coney, 31, of Brooklyn Park, is charged with one count of assault in the second degree for the shooting on Nov. 14 at the restaurant on Fountains Drive.
Coney was arrested on Tuesday in Inver Grove Heights and is being held in Hennepin County Jail on the charges.
The backstory:
Police responded to the report of shots fired at the restaurant on the afternoon of Friday, Nov. 14. At the time, officers said there was some sort of verbal altercation between two men and one opened fire, striking the other man in the groin.
Police said the two men seemed to know each other and the shooting wasn't random. The victim, a 33-year-old man, was expected to survive his injuries.
Charges include new details on shooting
Dig deeper:
The criminal complaint filed earlier this month against Coney sheds new details on the shooting.
According to the charges, Coney entered the restaurant, wearing a "distinctive" crossbody bag that police describe as a "man purse," and took a seat in the dining area with some friends. When Coney walked into the restaurant, video showed the victim was already seated at the bar. Nearly 40 minutes later, the victim and Coney got into an argument in the entryway between the bar and dining area.
The charges state that during the argument, Coney walked away briefly toward the dining area, grabbed the man purse, then returned to the victim. Moments later, police say the shot is fired, and the victim fell to the ground.
In the moments following the gunfire, witnesses heard Coney shout, 'And that’s why you don’t mess around!' He then walked out of the restaurant and climbed into a white Jeep.
The charges also shared new details about the victim's injuries, stating the victim was shot through the left groin with the bullet exiting his right buttock. Police said the victim survived his injuries.
Local perspective:
According to the charges, a search of Coney's social media accounts showed Coney had repeatedly searched for the victim, the victim's girlfriend, and the victim's relatives on Facebook in the hours after the shooting even though police hadn't released the victim's name at that point.
What's next:
Coney made his first court appearance in Hennepin County on Wednesday and is slated to return for an omnibus hearing next month. He is being held in jail on $250,000 bail.