A "prime suspect" in last month's killing of a man previously charged with stealing French bulldog puppies for ransom is also being linked to another shooting death that has gone unsolved for nearly two years, according to newly filed federal charges.
Four spent shell casings found at the scene of a Minneapolis shooting homicide in March 2022 underpin federal charges against a man now also suspected of taking part in last month's surge in gun violence in the city.
Prosecutors charged Deandre Franklin in a criminal complaint last week accusing him of illegally possessing four 10mm cartridge casings found near the body of Timothy Brown in a Minneapolis apartment building in 2022.
Forensic scientists at the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) later reported in May 2022 that Franklin was a "major contributor" of DNA located on the four spent casings. Franklin is barred from possessing firearms or ammunition based on multiple previous felony convictions — including two separate federal convictions as a felon in possession of a firearm, in 2013 and 2018, respectively.
According to an affidavit filed last week by a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Franklin is also a "prime suspect" in the Dec. 19 shooting death of Mikiyel Patton, who died at the scene of a shots-fired call on the 900 block of Newton Avenue N. Patton, 37, of Minneapolis, had previously been charged with stealing five French bulldog puppies from a home south of the Twin Cities and holding them for ransom. There has been no word on whether Patton's death was connected to the dogs being stolen.
At the time, according to Minneapolis police, investigators believed suspects were hiding in a nearby abandoned house but a SWAT team found it to be empty. Officers found Patton dead in an SUV, according to a search warrant affidavit police filed in court last month seeking permission to collect evidence from the vehicle.
Video surveillance from across the street showed the SUV arriving and parking, the affidavit read. Several gunshots and muzzle flashes were picked up on video coming from inside the vehicle, the court filing continued.
"The driver got out of the vehicle and fled on foot, and another male walked up to the front passenger door and shot as well," the state court affidavit read.