Myon Burrell, set free after 18 years in prison, charged with firearm, drug possession
ROBBINSDALE, Minn. — Myon Burrell, who spent 18 years behind bars before his sentence was commuted in 2020, has been charged for possession of a firearm and drugs.
Burrell, 37, was accused in the murder of 11-year-old Tyesha Edwards, who was shot in the heart in 2002. Though he always maintained his innocence, his case was used by then-Hennepin County Prosecutor Amy Klobuchar as an example of her tough-on-crime policy, which years later was brought under scrutiny during her unsuccessful run at the presidency in 2020.
An independent national legal panel determined that there was a "failure to investigate that illustrates tunnel vision" and that evidence that could have helped exonerate Burrell was either ignored or minimized. His case was an example of the faulty handling of criminal investigations, particularly involving young Black men.
Burrell's sentence was commuted but his request for a pardon was denied, meaning his felony conviction remained on his record.
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He was arrested on Tuesday morning in Robbinsdale after an officer saw him speeding and driving over the center line of the road. Charging documents state that when the officer approached his car and he rolled down the window, there was a "very strong odor of burnt marijuana."
The officer determined Burrell to be intoxicated during a field sobriety test and told him to sit in the squad car; Burrell then resisted, according to documents, and was eventually placed in handcuffs.
The officer found a Glock 17 9mm handgun with an extended magazine in the center console, along with substances that field tested positive for marijuana, methamphetamine, and MDMA. The latter two are schedule II controlled substances in Minnesota.
After his release from prison, Burrell began to share his story by starting his own foundation, Myon Speaks, and was featured in a local documentary about the school-to-prison pipeline.
"Taking my story and taking what I went through and showing my people that, 'No I'm you, you're me, I'm your child,' the same thing that happened to me is going to happen to your child if we don't stop it right now," he said in an interview with WCCO. "I have hope. I have faith. I have strong faith that things are going to change."
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On Friday afternoon, Judge Peter Cahill set Burrell's bail at $100,000 with no conditions, or $50,000 with conditions. The weapons charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
"If he was culpable and responsible for that gun, maybe people would understand that when you are literally raised in a prison, maybe your thought process isn't the same as the rest of ours, and you could also factor in that there are people who disagree with the outcome of this case and maybe have a vendetta against him," said Paul Applebaum, Burrell's attorney.
Burrell is due back in court on Oct. 17.
