Thread: Minneapolis man arrested in drive-by shooting death last wee

Minneapolis man arrested in drive-by shooting death last weekend

A 22-year-old Minneapolis man is in custody in connection with the shooting death of Gustavo Ortega, one of three people killed within 11 hours last weekend.
Last update: March 6, 2008 - 11:39 PM


The suspect was arrested by Minneapolis police at his workplace in Plymouth, said Lt. Todd Sandell of the Richfield Police Department. He is expected to be charged today and remains in the Hennepin County jail.

Ortega, 18, was struck by bullets from an eastbound car in Richfield on Saturday night as he walked with friends on the north frontage road near the Arby's restaurant on 77th St.

He was the second person killed by gunshots Saturday. Four hours earlier, Augustin Andrade Navarro, 14, was killed while walking with friends near the Midas Auto Service Shop at Lake Street and Portland Avenue S. in Minneapolis. A car pulled up, there was a verbal exchange and shots were fired out of the car.

"We're still investigating a connection there, if there is any, but we can't confirm that there is," Sandell said.

However, the suspect arrested in Ortega's murder is a known Surenos 13 gang member, he said. Sandell would not say whether other arrests were expected in Ortega's death. Warrants were obtained to conduct several searches Wednesday and Thursday, he said.

On Sunday Johanna Hollis was killed by shots fired into her south Minneapolis home.

ABBY SIMONS

http://www.startribune.com/local/west/16368541.html

Police investigating three weekend murders

Police in Minneapolis and Richfield are investigating three murders that happened within 12 hours of each other.

Minneapolis police say one woman was killed and another injured inside a home at 2846 17th Avenue South early Sunday morning. They say the women were part of a gathering of family and friends inside the home. The gathering included several babies and young children.

Police say at about 1 a.m., somebody outside fired shots into the front room of the home. Police say the woman who died was a 40-year-old mother. They say the injured woman was not seriously hurt.

Police have arrested a 28-year-old man in connection with the shootings. He's currently being held in the Hennepin County Jail for probable cause murder.

Meanwhile, Minneapolis and Richfield police are investigating whether two murders that happened Saturday afternoon are related.

Police say a boy in his mid-teens was shot and killed near the corner of East Lake Street and Portland Avenue South in Minneapolis just after 2 p.m.

Authorities have not released the victim's name.

About four hours later, police say 18-year-old Gustavo Ortega was shot and killed during a drive-by shooting outside an Arby's restaurant near Portland Avenue South and I-494 in Richfield.

Sabastian Ortega, Gustavo's father, said through an interpreter that his son had come to America from Mexico almost three years ago and worked as a roofer.

"I'd like to know why they did that to him," Ortega said. "He was young and he hadn't even lived life yet."

Police have not arrested anybody for either of Saturday's shootings, nor have they said if they are gang-related.

But they are investigating to see if the murders are connected. Police say they both involve teenage victims that were shot outside in busy areas.

Anyone with information about any of the murders is urged to call police.

By Julianna Olsen, KARE 11 News
http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article ... yid=500719

All of these areas are in a vicinity close to I35W and from Richfield north to Mpls, you'll find a high concentration of hispanics, legal and illegal, as they can easily "fall in to the population" and the availability of employment (other than illegal drugs & acitivities) is large and businesses that cater to them, is easily available.

There is ALOT of gang activity in So Mpls and flowing into Richfield, too.

Brought to your local neighbor "hood" curtsy of Bush, Pelosi, Reid and Chertoff

Complemented by Mexico, South America and LaRaza

just suck it down AmeriKa and enjoy the white knuckle ride of a lifetime

Posted at: 03/03/2008 09:16:59 PM

Updated at: 03/04/2008 07:13:34 AM

By: Nicole Muehlhausen, Web Producer



Richfield family remembers son


Leonor Navarro, Augustin's mother

Shooting victim, Augustin Navarro

With the help of an interpreter, Augustin Navarro's parents sat down with 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS to remember their son.

"It never crossed my mind I would suffer what I'm suffering right now," said his father, Sergio Andrade.

Police said he was walking with two friends Saturday afternoon in South Minneapolis when a car drove by, insults were traded, and then someone inside the car opened fire.

Homicide investigators tell 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that motive may have been a dispute between two gangs.

But Augustin’s parents don’t think their son was affiliated with a gang.

"He was a very good boy. A great son and I always taught him to respect others. My son didn't deserve what they did to him. And I do want to see them in jail, but I don't feel anger toward them. I hope God forgives them," said Leonor Navarro, Augustin’s mother.

Augustin’s father worries for his family’s safety, but said he forgives his son’s killer.

"We're scared because we don't know what they will do. I forgive them. That's what my parents taught me to forgive. It's hard, but I forgive them, so he can rest in peace," said Sergio.

The Navarro family has set up a funeral fund at Wells Fargo Bank. They hope to raise enough money to burry Augustin in Mexico.

http://kstp.com/article/stories/s366423.shtml?v=1

Was boy's slaying gang related?

The shooting of a boy in Minneapolis has police looking at renewed gang violence.

By DAVID CHANEN, Star Tribune

Last update: March 4, 2008 - 12:01 AM





Saturday was another typical day in the teenage life of Augustin Andrade Navarro.

The 14-year-old got a ride from his home in Plymouth to hook up with some former school friends in Minneapolis and download music. The group dropped off a car for an oil change about 2 p.m. at Lake Street and Portland Avenue. Augustin planned to call his mom for a lift back home.

But then a car full of teens drove up, words were exchanged and shots were fired. Bullets hit Augustin in the chest and abdomen. Hands shaking, his friends held his head as he bled to death.

Four hours later, police were looking for connections in the drive-by shooting death of an 18-year-old man in Richfield. Both homicides appear to be gang-related, but police continue to investigate whether the victims or suspects have gang affiliations.

Gang violence has been relatively dormant across the city since fall, but police officials have seen an upswing in the past month.

Augustin's mother, Leonor, said Monday he wasn't in a gang. She didn't know "why anybody would do this to us." The family was planning to meet his girlfriend and go dancing the day he was shot.

"The only thing my mother said she feels right now is sadness," said her daughter Laura, who translated her comments. "The only thing she is mad about is that Augustin didn't have a chance to defend himself."

Looking at link for killings

Augustin and his friends were in the parking lot of a Midas Auto Service Shop at Lake and Portland when the confrontation flared. It is too soon to draw a definite link between his death and the killing of 18-year-old Gustavo Ortega in Richfield, but "there is enough similarity that we are taking a serious look," said Minneapolis homicide Lt. Amelia Huffman. A man has been arrested in the Richfield case.

Violent crimes, which include homicides, rapes, aggravated assaults and robberies, have dropped 7 percent citywide from the same time last year. Lucy Gerold, head of the Third Precinct in south Minneapolis, where Augustin was killed, said police there are dealing with a recent increase in gang violence. That includes Latino, African-American and Somali gangs, she said.

"One of the things we are doing is gang training for all officers, especially on the active gangs so they can learn the players and their habits," she said. "We want to be more proactive than reactive. Saturday's homicide was an anomaly for this area."

On the North Side, Fourth Precinct Inspector Mike Martin said several small, unstructured gangs who aren't fighting over turf are responsible for at least four shootings. One incident involved a downtown shooting near Target Center Feb. 17.

Several of those gang members were present the day before when David Fields, 17, was shot to death in a north Minneapolis home. According to police, a 19-year-old was playing with a loaded gun and accidentally hot Fields in the head, police said. He has been charged with second-degree manslaughter.

A 14-year-old recently told police that several gang members shot at his house six times in two weeks, but nobody had been seriously injured. In the past week, police have seized guns from six gang members.

Such gangs are harder to disband by traditional policing techniques because of their loose structure, Martin said. They often don't use real names, make up gang symbols and change gang affiliations on a daily basis, he said. Most are still going to school, and don't have lengthy criminal histories.

"You have to work harder at gathering intelligence and get the information out quickly," he said. "I wouldn't say we have it under control, but we are tracking people closely."

With traditional gangs, police put together a long-term strategy, document activity and target individual members, he said. The department's Violent Offender Task Force has broken up three long-established gangs in the past two years.

Now, officers will saturate areas where the gangs are active, make traffic stops and monitor probation conditions, Martin said. Residents have also warned police about "things that were going to happen" with gang members, which has helped prevent some shootings and possibly a homicide, Martin said.

A pitcher and a Santana fan

On Monday in Plymouth, sorrow weighed on Augustin's mother and father, and six siblings, ages 4 to 20.

Laura said Augustin dreamed of becoming a famous baseball player and had recently been chosen for the pitching staff on a local team. Even though he's a righty, he loved pitcher Johan Santana, the former Minnesota Twins' star left-hander.

Maricela Navarro, Augustin's oldest sister, said she had no reason to believe any of his friends belonged to a gang. She wondered if Augustin was unknowingly wearing colors of a rival gang when he was shot.

The family, which moved from Veracruz, Mexico, about 10 years ago, has been struggling financially because Augustin's father has had trouble finding construction work. The family had planned to visit Veracruz next winter. It was Augustin's wish to be buried there, where he was born, his sister said. The family is trying to find a way to honor his wishes.

The last time Leonor Navarro saw her son was Friday, when she returned home from caring for her sister in California.

"He said the house was so empty when she wasn't around," Maricela said. "Now ... "

David Chanen • 612-673-4465

http://www.startribune.com/local/west/1 ... page=1&c=y

Good article safari

After the four childrens deaths in the school bus accident and these apparent gang related shooting one would think illegal immigration would be a top priority to Minnesota lawmakers.

Minneapolis, St. Paul and Worthington, MN are all sanctuary cities--open doors to illegal immigration.

Originally Posted by MyAmerica

Good article safari

After the four childrens deaths in the school bus accident and these apparent gang related shooting one would think illegal immigration would be a top priority to Minnesota lawmakers.

Minneapolis, St. Paul and Worthington, MN are all sanctuary cities--open doors to illegal immigration.

Notice how the mom doesn't speak ENGLISH and she had to rely on interpretation. There are many there who are legal, and don't or won't learn English! My children's cousin's mother is one of them. Always relying on interpreters. Her husband obtained his citizenship, they then married and he sponsored her to the States. He learned his English because it was mandatory for Citizenship BUT she has no desire to obtain citizenship and has been able to stay gainfully employed through self-employment ventures such as home interiors, a bakery, etc.

You'd think after 18 years in the US she would have some initiative to learn English, especially since she likes living here. I do not know what the parents of this child's status is but with children this age, more should be done about learning English if you are a legal immigrant.

"He was a very good boy. A great son and I always taught him to respect others. My son didn't deserve what they did to him. And I do want to see them in jail, but I don't feel anger toward them. I hope God forgives them," said Leonor Navarro, Augustin’s mother.

I am sorry for her loss and I dont want to sound mean here. But, is this a NORMAL reaction for a parent whose child was just shot by a gang member?

How can a mother NOT FEEL ANGER TOWARD the killers?

Before reading the article you posted safari, didn't know the extent of gangs in the twin cities. Whether gang related or not, the loss of the two youths is so sad and tragic.

My mother, one grandfather and both grandmothers were bilingual out of necessity. Televison, news, dealing with the government, voting, education, socializing, employment and so forth were conducted in English--so, not to be 'self-isolated' or 'left out', they learned English.

I think many of the incenitives for learning English have fallen by the way-side partly due to our government. Some televison networks broadcast in non-English, newspapers are printed in other languages, ballots are printed in multiple languages as well as governmental booklets, government websites minimally are in English and Spanish, translators are provided for court and medical services, etc. So the 'need' to learn English isn't as great as it was in the past to function in America. Being bilingual is such an advantage.