Woman charged with murder, assault in downtown Minneapolis hit-and-run that killed teen
MINNEAPOLIS — A 22-year-old woman has been charged in connection to a hit-and-run in downtown Minneapolis over the weekend which killed a teenage girl and injured five others.
Latalia Margalli was charged with one count of second-degree murder and five counts of second-degree assault, according to documents filed in Hennepin County Tuesday.
De'Miaya Broome, 16, was with a group of people at the intersection of Fifth Street and Hennepin Avenue early Saturday morning. A fight broke out, and Margalli allegedly got in her car, drove the wrong way down Fifth Street and through a crowd of a dozen people, investigators said.
A victim told police Margalli threatened to shoot the group she was arguing with before getting into her car. One witness told police he saw the car drive into the crowd and the driver "didn't hit her brakes or nothing," the complaint states.
"Ms. Margalli left this fight, made a threat, went to her SUV, backed it up, made a hard right turn and then accelerated towards the fight and surrounding crowd at Fifth and Hennepin," Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said at a news conference announcing the charges.
Margalli continued to drive through downtown, but was followed by witnesses and stopped by law enforcement on the 2300 block of Bryant Avenue North. She was booked into Hennepin County Jail and remains in custody.
De'Miaya Broome was taken to the hospital, where she later died.
"Ms. Margalli's life-altering decision to drive her car into a group of people has left De'Miaya's family with an enormous void," Moriarty said.
Four of the victims suffered non-life-threatening injuries and a 29-year-old woman suffered life-threatening injuries, officials said. The complaint states the surviving victims suffered injuries ranging from "bumps and bruises to broken legs and a head injury."
Moriarty contrasted the charges filed against Margalli to those levied against Steven Bailey, who is accused of drunkenly driving into the patio of a St. Louis Park restaurant, killing two people and injuring several others. Bailey was charged with third-degree murder. Moriarty said intent is the difference, and that prosecutors believe "this was pretty clearly intentional conduct" on Margalli's part, necessitating a more severe charge.
"A really, really good kid"
After the fatal hit-and-run, De'Miaya Broome's father Juan spent time at the county attorney's office asking about potential charges, hoping that his daughter gets justice.
The teenager loved to draw, write poetry and spend time with her family, he said.
"De'Miaya was a really, really good kid," Juan Broome said. "She had the biggest heart."
He added that she loved to spend time with all her nieces and nephews, and enjoyed going to her grandmother's house.
Her funeral is planned for Sept. 24 in Brooklyn Park.
"(She was the) life of the party. She'd make everybody smile, everybody laugh. She always brought the good vibes," said Prisias Fisher, who visited a memorial for Broome Tuesday afternoon.
Friends shared frustration and disbelief over the loss of Broome.
"She really cared about people. She wouldn't want this to happen. I know she wouldn't," said Tanyah Lewis.
At the intersection of Fifth and Hennepin, where Broome was killed, a 14-year-old boy was shot Monday afternoon. For nearby business owners, it fuels a growing concern that more will leave the area.
"There's businesses moving out of this building left and right," said Danie Stensgaard, who owns Daniel's Custom Clothing in the nearby lumber exchange building. "And why would anyone open an office here or even on nicolet mall when I can't even walk over to the drug store without feeling unsafe?"
Stensgaard says he plans to move his business to Minneapolis' North Loop later this year.