Nov. 6: Man arrested for killing bicyclist with baseball bat

Nearly two months ago, relatives of Mark Loesch had no clue about why he was beaten to death during a late-night bike ride in south Minneapolis. Police were quick to say it wasn't a random crime, but they offered up little else.

On Monday, Loesch's father-in-law, David Barnes, was initially elated to hear that a 23-year-old man had been charged in the case, which appeared to have all the elements of a violent robbery. But when police officials publicly said they believe Loesch was in the area to buy marijuana, Barnes was brought to tears.

"I know Mark and don't believe that is what happened," he said. "They shouldn't have slandered a dead person."

According to family and friends, Loesch, 41, left his home Sept. 12 in the 4100 block of Wentworth Avenue S. for a bike ride after watching the 10 p.m. news.

Family members have said that the father of four may have been on his way to a friend's house to show him a new tire he'd recently put on his bike. He left his wallet and cell phone at home. When Loesch didn't return home that night, his wife called police.

Lt. Amelia Huffman, head of the homicide unit, said police believe that Loesch biked to the 3700 block of Elliot Avenue S. and discussed a drug transaction with Donald E. Jackson and another man. They lured him around a corner, where he was fatally beaten with a metal bat, according to second-degree murder charges. The two took $40 from his pants pocket, the charges say.

At 7 a.m. the next day, Loesch's body was found in a yard by a 12-year-old boy walking to catch his school bus. Loesch had several injuries and his right front pocket was turned inside out. His red Schwinn bicycle was next to him.

Jackson, who was convicted of first-degree aggravated robbery in 2003, told police about Loesch's drug inquiry, Huffman said. Jackson told others he was concerned he would be arrested for robbing and beating "a white guy on a bicycle," the court document said.

The document doesn't mention that Loesch was talking to Jackson and another man about buying drugs, as police asserted Monday. It does say that after his arrest, Jackson told police he and the man were selling drugs at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue S. when they saw Loesch and decided to rob him.

Jackson said the other man beat and robbed Loesch, the document said. That man is in jail and denies any connection to the attack, Huffman said.

Jackson's admission to others on the street about the beating was key, Huffman said. He had been the prime suspect for several weeks.

Before Monday's news conference, Huffman told several relatives that Loesch appeared to be buying drugs. She said she understands that information is hurtful to the family and said, "I don't want to bring more pain."It's important to be as forthright and transparent as possible," she said. "This helps people look at the incident and decide what it all means. It doesn't make this any less of a tragedy."

The fact that Loesch was interested in buying drugs wasn't mentioned in the criminal complaint because it wouldn't affect what Jackson is charged with and "we don't know for certain that it happened," said Deputy Hennepin County Attorney Pat Diamond. He said he doesn't disagree with Huffman's assessment.

Loesch was arrested in 2003 on suspicion of misdemeanor drug possession. Around that time, Loesch went to rehab for a drug problem and leaned on family and friends to overcome it, said childhood friend Will Vervair.

"He just said he was messed up. It was not something he was particularly proud of," said Vervair, adding that he does not support the police theory that Loesch was looking to buy drugs. "This was not somebody who was going to relapse."

Huffman said the autopsy showed no traces of drugs in Loesch's system. Vervair said he believes that his friend was randomly attacked, that "two or three kids or young adults saw him and said, 'Hey, he's an easy mark, let's jump him.'"

Huffman said, "The only people who know why Mark was in the neighborhood is Mark himself and the two guys who robbed him."

Days after Loesch was killed, more than 300 people rallied at the scene of his death. Vervair said Loesch was a "fantastic man, husband and father."

Loesch was an information technology consultant and father of four children aged 3 to 14. His father-in-law, Barnes, said that the implication that Loesch was buying drugs takes away from the story of an innocent man beaten to death.

"This is a public relations idea by the Police Department," he said. "It sounds better if I was just another drug addict who was killed. No way that is the case."

Vervair said Loesch's wife, Samantha, is having a hard time with the arrest and the conflicting reports surrounding it.

"At a rational level, she understands the interest," Vervair said. "But on a personal level, she's trying to be a mom, and the father of their four children has been brutally murdered, and she's trying to work on their healing."

dchanen@startribune.com • 612-673-4465 tcollins@startribune.com • 612-673-1790