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Life in prison with possibility of parole for shooter in 2016 killing of man, infant

Jquan McInnis was 17 when he killed a man and a 7-month-old infant.

By Chao Xiong

January 4, 2020 at 3:01AM

Julia Johnson, Gustav Christianson’s older sister, and her daughter Angelina Flores (left), and Christianson’s older bother Gomer Thompson gathered in 2016 at the memorial site for Christianson. Family and community members held a vigil at the scene where 20-year-old Gustav D. Christianson and 7-month-old Jayden Redden were killed on Oct. 9, 2016 by Jquan McInnis. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

A Minneapolis man was sentenced Thursday to life in prison with the possibility of parole for fatally shooting a man and an infant in Minneapolis' Phillips neighborhood in 2016.

Jquan McInnis, 20, will have to serve at least 60 years in prison — 30 years for each death — before he is eligible for parole.

McInnis was 17 when he killed Gustav Christianson on Oct. 9, 2016, over a debt. Seven-month-old Jayden Redden was also killed. The infant and his father were in the car with Christianson at the time of the shooting.

McInnis was convicted in 2018 of two counts of first-degree murder in a stipulated evidence trial in which Hennepin County District Judge Jeannice Reding reviewed evidence and issued the verdict.

Due to McInnis' age at the time of the shooting, a hearing was held in November to determine whether he qualified for a life sentence, according to a news release from the Hennepin County Attorney's Office.

The hearing found that McInnis was likely exposed to drugs and alcohol in the womb, was taken from his mother and placed with his grandparents, where he suffered "chronic maltreatment," the office said.

The grandparents didn't follow up on school and mental health resources offered to McInnis.

"Instead, he spent a lot of his time on the street, unsupervised, and 'spent time with mostly older gang members and learned how to survive on the streets, including using violence as a way of conflict resolution,' " according to the release. "But in deciding not to sentence him to life in prison without parole, the judge noted that both experts who examined McInnis said he is capable of being rehabilitated in prison."

According to the criminal complaint: McInnis and a companion were driving in the area of E. 26th Street and S. 11th Avenue when they passed Christianson sitting in the back seat of a parked car. McInnis told the driver of his vehicle to circle back and park a block away.

McInnis ran up to the car and fired five times into it, striking Christianson, who crawled out, collapsed and died. McInnis was leaving when he fired a sixth shot through the back window and struck the infant in the chest.

The infant was strapped into a car seat. His father, who was driving the car Christianson was in, was not injured.

Chao Xiong • 612-270-4708

Julia Johnson, Gustav Christianson’s older sister, shared photos of her bother in 2016. (Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

about the writer

Chao Xiong

Reporter

Chao Xiong was the Hennepin County Courts reporter for the Star Tribune. He previously covered Ramsey County courts, St. Paul police, the state of Minnesota and the city of Minneapolis.