No Charges After Fatal Shooting of Suspect in S. Minneapolis Home Invasion
Charges will not be filed against a homeowner after the suspect in a burglary and attempted home invasion was fatally shot in south Minneapolis last month.
The shooting happened on the 3300 block of 25th Ave. S. late Feb. 22.
Martin Lee Johnson, 30, of Minneapolis, was found shot in the chest in the back yard of the residence and died of his injuries at the scene.
Evidence reviewed by investigators shows the 53-year-old homeowner and her 26-year-old son have valid claims to self-defense and won’t be facing criminal charges, according a declination letter Monday from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.
Most of the incident was captured on a Ring surveillance camera. Minneapolis police officers obtained the footage and provided it to the county attorney’s office for review.
The surveillance video shows Johnson jumping over a six-foot privacy fence that encircles the entire back yard of the home and trying to enter the home through a back patio door, according to the county attorney’s office.
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After unsuccessfully trying to enter the home, Johnson allegedly entered the detached garage through a service door that leads into the backyard.
The woman told officers she’d seen Johnson on her Ring camera trying to enter her home and thought he had eventually left. A media release notes that the homeowner has a permit to carry a firearm and legally owns the firearm she used.
The woman also asked her son to retrieve a rifle from downstairs because the suspect on camera could possibly find it if he entered their home through the basement egress window.
The homeowner reported she saw that her garage service door was slightly ajar and realized the man was still there. She began firing warning shots and yelled for the man to leave. Her son was standing next to her and also was yelling for the man to leave.
The woman and her son did not leave the interior of the home and remained at the threshold of their patio door, the county attorney’s office said.
Johnson allegedly came out of the garage but refused to leave the back yard. Instead, he began walking toward the homeowner and her son, “with his hands near his waist area.” After repeated warnings to leave and more warning shots, he kept advancing toward them, they said.
Shortly after, Johnson was shot a single time in the chest and later died at the scene. The attorney’s office says that it “cannot be said with absolute certainty” which of the guns was used to fire the fatal shot. The homeowner’s son called 911 after the incident and police arrived, finding Johnson deceased and unarmed.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office says that the homeowner and her son did not have a duty to retreat because they were inside their own home at the time.
“All of the surrounding circumstances show that their fear of bodily harm was subjectively real and objectively reasonable. They had just observed the deceased attempting to break into their home. He then refused to leave after multiple warning shots. Then, he started advancing toward them with his hands near his waist area,” the declination letter from the attorney’s office read.
“The homeowner and her son were reasonable in thinking that a potential burglar, undeterred by warning shots and advancing toward them, could pose a significant danger. While this case is tragic, there is not sufficient proof that the homeowner and/or her son are guilty of a crime.”
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