Court of Appeals overturns murder conviction in 2021 Minneapolis Elks Club shooting
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota Court of Appeals judge has overturned the murder conviction of a man accused of fatally shooting another man at a vigil in north Minneapolis three years ago.
Deandre Dontae Turner was convicted of second-degree intentional murder last year and sentenced to decades in prison in connection to the death of Andrew T. McGinley on June 30, 2021, outside of the Elks Club off North Plymouth and Knox avenues.
McGinley died from several gunshot wounds amid an outdoor ceremony following a funeral.
According to court documents filed on Nov. 18, Judge Jeanne Cochran reversed the conviction and remanded the case back to the district court, writing Turner had been "deprived of a fair trial due to evidentiary errors and multiple instances of prosecutorial misconduct."
The shooting
Court records state Turner was among about 200 attendees when a fight broke out at the vigil between McGinley and another man, who were both allegedly affiliated with different gangs. During their struggle, McGinley was shot in the leg.
As the other man fled, court documents state someone came up behind McGinley and shot him several times in the back, killing him.
The quality of surveillance footage of the shooting was described as "extremely poor" and the shooter's face couldn't be made out. While footage showed the shooter wearing a red shirt and black pants, similar to what Turner wore that day, court records state many attendees were wearing those colors.
Court documents say a witness spoke with Minneapolis police weeks later, and at the "suggestion" of a sergeant "agreed that Turner shot the victim." No other witnesses pinpointed Turner as the shooter.
The trial
At Turner's 2023 trial, forensic investigators linked casings and spent rounds collected at the scene to a handgun that had been used in three previous shootings, though no evidence was presented in court linking Turner to those crimes.
The court filing says the state's case was centered on the testimony of the aforementioned police sergeant and a composite video of surveillance footage that didn't sync up at times with his narration on the witness stand.
The aforementioned witness also testified that while he knew Turner and was near the shooting, he didn't remember witnessing it or seeing Turner. After an objection made by the defense, the judge ruled in favor of the prosecution and deemed the witness's statement to the sergeant was admissible.
Another man who drove Turner home from the vigil testified that he didn't see who killed McGinley, nor did he see Turner with a gun, court documents state.
Turner himself took the stand, where he admitted to falsely telling officers months after the shooting that he wasn't at the vigil, explaining he lied because he follows "a code" not to speak to police.
The filing says he was tipped off before his arrest that he was a suspect, but didn't turn himself in because he didn't shoot McGinley, whom he said he didn't know.
Turner was eventually convicted and sentenced to more than 27 years in prison.
The appeal and subsequent ruling
Turner appealed his conviction, with Cochran eventually siding with the defense in their claims that the witness's out-of-court statement pinpointing Turner should never have been admitted in court.
Cochran also wrote the sergeant's testimony — primarily when he gave his opinion on Turner's culpability and referred to him as the "fatal shooter" while narrating surveillance footage — "may have unduly influenced the jury."
The judge also agreed that evidence concerning the shooter's identity was "weak," and the prosecution's claims that Turner was a gang member and was high on drugs at the vigil — both without any corroborating evidence — were among the details that supported the defense's claims of prosecutorial misconduct.
Cochran concluded Turner had been denied a fair trial, and his was "the rare case warranting reversal."
Turner will now face a new trial starting at an undetermined date.