Multiple charges in drive-by shooting death of woman in north Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A man has been charged in the drive-by shooting death of a woman in the early morning hours of Aug. 9 in Minneapolis.

Tremaine Michael Bucholz, 26, of Minneapolis is charged with second-degree murder and drive-by shooting, plus possession of a firearm after a previous conviction for a crime of violence for his involvement in the shooting death.

According to charges, Minneapolis Police Officers were dispatched to the intersection of Thomas Avenue North and Oak Park Avenue in Minneapolis on the report of multiple shots fired and a woman screaming around 12:01 a.m. Upon arrival police found a woman lying face down on the sidewalk with a gunshot wound to her back.

Investigators found that video from a doorbell camera had captured the incident, which showed a cargo van "stopped and waiting" at the intersection of the address. According to charges, as the victim walked to the corner, "the cargo van slowly pulled out," then stopped next to her when a shot is fired from the passenger window. The victim then took off running, when seven additional shots are fired from the van, striking her once in the back.

According to police, the victim could be heard screaming "help" several times after being struck when the van quickly takes off southbound on Thomas Avenue.  After further investigation, Bucholz was determined to be the passenger in the van, police said.

Police later located the van in an underground garage at an apartment complex located on the 2200 block of Golden Valley Road on Aug. 10, according to charges, with a passenger window that was partially shattered from a bullet being fired. Video surveillance from the apartment complex where the van was found shows Bucholz and a co-defendant returning to the complex – roughly 12 blocks from where the shooting happened – approximately four minutes after the homicide.

According to police, officers also located a 10mm discharged cartridge casing from the vehicle’s undercarriage that marched a casing from the scene of the shooting.

Bucholz was subsequently arrested on Sept. 5.

During an interview with police, he claimed that he was not sitting in the front passenger seat because "it was loose and not safe," which is contradicted by the video that shows him getting out of the front passenger seat, and the search of the vehicle, according to charges.