Minneapolis Man Charged in Double-Fatal Drug Deal Shooting
A Minneapolis man faces multiple murder charges for allegedly killing two people and wounding a third in a February drug deal shooting.
Charging documents say officers responded to an apartment building on the 2800 block of Colfax Ave. S. in Minneapolis on Feb. 15 just after 11:30 p.m. on a report of a shooting. Offices arrived and located a black Yukon parked on the street with multiple bullet holes on the passenger side and a man who had suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head slumped in the passenger seat. A female victim nearby approached officers and told them she had been shot in the chest.
While officers were securing the shooting scene, they learned of a third victim one block east, inside of an apartment building on Bryant Ave. That male victim had suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and was pronounced deceased at the scene. Investigators traced a blood trail and determined the man had been shot near the other two victims and ran to the location where he was found.
PREVIOUSLY: 2 Men Killed, Woman Injured in South Minneapolis Shooting
The female victim told investigators that she had picked up Khalil Amer Bryant, 23, of Robbinsdale, in her Yukon and drove to a gas station. During the drive, Bryant was on the phone discussing drug prices with another person. Bryant then asked the woman to drive him to the apartment building on Colfax Ave. S. to conduct the deal. Shortly after they arrived, gunfire erupted. Officers learned that the second male, Davante Lavar-King Reid, 29, of Minneapolis, lived at the apartment on Colfax and had arranged to purchase drugs from Bryant.
2800 block of Colfax Ave. S. in Minneapolis on Feb. 15. Submitted
The investigation revealed video that showed while at the gas station, a silver Mercury sedan arrive and park at an adjacent gas pump. The driver of the sedan, Immir Fyontane Rice, 24, of Minneapolis, briefly followed Bryant on foot, but both Rice and Bryant returned to their vehicles.
Additional surveillance video near the shooting showed the Mercury sedan park in the area and the driver jog towards the shooting location. Two minutes later, automatic gunfire is heard and the video shows Rice returning to his vehicle quickly afterwards, then driving away. Investigators located 16 discharged casings from the sidewalk, all of which were fired from the same gun.
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Investigators later found the Mercury parked outside of a residence in Minneapolis. Rice was the only person living at the home where the vehicle was found. Rice was taken into custody and observed that he was wearing the same distinctive clothing he wore on the night of the murders. Rice’s phone records also placed him near the scene of the double-murder less than two minutes after the shooting.
Investigators searched Rice’s residence and found multiple handguns and the title to the Mercury sedan seen in the surveillance videos. None of the handguns matched the murder weapon.
Detectives later determined that Rice and Bryant were prior associates but had a falling out in 2017. Court documents say Rice was previously convicted of aggravated robbery and that Rice had posted on social media in Sept. 2022 that he believed Bryant had cooperated with the investigation leading to his arrest.
Rice has multiple felony convictions and was on probation at the time of the shooting. Rice is charged with two counts of 2nd-degree murder, one count of attempted 2nd-degree murder and one count possession of a firearm by an ineligible person.
Rice is being held at the Hennepin County Jail where he is also facing unrelated gun possession charges.
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