19-year-old charged with murder of semi-pro football player in downtown Minneapolis drive-by shooting

A 19-year-old Brooklyn Park man whose whereabouts are unknown was charged by warrant Thursday in the slaying of a Minneapolis semi-pro football player during a February drive-by shooting.

Clyde Mack Lee was charged with second-degree murder in Hennepin County District Court nearly 10 months after 25-year-old Deveall "Mac" McClendon was killed on Feb. 6.

McClendon, who was originally from Georgia, played fullback for the Minneapolis Warriors.

Describing how she had repeatedly watched a video showing McClendon take off his shoes and give them to a man who had none, team president Krista Clausen told the Star Tribune the day after his death, "I think that's very much a representation of who he was."

The shooting took place around 1:15 a.m. in the area of Hennepin and Lyndale avenues and Vineland Place near Loring Park.

According to the charges and based on video surveillance:

Minneapolis police responding a reported car crash and gunshots found McClendon behind the wheel of a Dodge Charger that had collided with a Toyota. He was bleeding excessively from six gunshot wounds.

When police stopped the Malibu days later in Maple Grove, the 34-year-old driver said his girlfriend was the owner and only they used the car. A search of the vehicleturned up a 10-millimeter shell casing matching those found at the homicide scene.

Police said they believe two firearms were used in the fatal shooting because they recovered two 10mm and four 9mm casings.

A rifle also was found in a zipped-up backpack in the Charger.

Investigators said the casings matched a firearm used in a June 25, 2022, shooting in Minneapolis. In that case, a Snap Chat video and photos showed Lee holding a 10mm handgun near where the shooting occurred. His Snap Chat tracking data also placed him at the scene of McClendon's killing.

Lee doesn't have a violent criminal history record in Minnesota. In October, he was charged with gross misdemeanor theft by swindle and check forgery in Hennepin County. The case is pending and a pre-trial hearing is slated for later this month.