Brooklyn Park man charged in '05 drive-by

Last update: November 10, 2007 - 4:45 PM

A second man has been charged in the 2005 murder of a Minneapolis man shot to death after a Roosevelt High School basketball game in south Minneapolis.

A grand jury indicted Thaddus J. Blanchard, 21, recently of Brooklyn Park, on two counts of second-degree murder during a drive-by shooting. He was indicted Thursday in Hennepin County District Court on charges he conspired with Marcus Champs, now 20, to kill Artaives Brown, 24.

Champs, who got into an argument with Brown during the Roosevelt game the night of Feb. 22, 2005, was charged last month with first-degree murder. The complaint alleges that after the game Champs shot at Brown's car about five times after pulling in front of it near E. 37th Street and Cedar Avenue S. Someone in Brown's car drove him to Hennepin County Medical Center where he died from a gunshot to the head.

The grand jury also indicted Champs this week on additional charges of first- and second-degree murder for Brown's death.

JIM ADAMS