A man admitted to a weapons offense and was sentenced Tuesday to a five-year term in connection with fatally shooting another man who drew a knife during a confrontation in a northeast Minneapolis bar late last year.
Patrick W. Mincey, 43, of Minneapolis, pled guilty in Hennepin County District Court to being a felon in possession of a firearm stemming from the Dec. 3 killing of 37-year-old Kenneth T. Rodriguez of Minneapolis, at the Spring Street Tavern at 355 Monroe St. NE. Mincey's criminal history in Minnesota includes convictions for second-degree assault with a gun and kidnapping. He was not charged explicitly with shooting Rodriguez.
"The defendant had a reasonable self-defense claim based on corroborated surveillance footage showing the victim confronting and threatening the defendant with a large knife," said Nick Kimball, spokesman for the County Attorney's Office, explaining why a count was not filed that directly addressed Rodriguez's death.
"The video also showed a group of identified gang members joining the victim in the confrontation," Kimball added. "Given the objective and uncontradicted evidence, we could not disprove the defendant's self-defense claim beyond a reasonable doubt."
With credit for time in jail after his arrest, Mincey is expected to serve roughly 3⅓ years in prison and the balance of his term on supervised release.
Interior video provided to the Star Tribune showed Mincey talking with another bar patron. Nearby was Rodriguez and two other men, all wearing vests identifying them as members of the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club.
The video showed Mincey and Rodriguez not interacting until Rodriguez stared at Mincey, then approached him. Rodriguez removed a knife and held it down along his right thigh. He then took a few steps toward Mincey, who was still in conversation with the other patron.
Rodriguez tapped Mincey on the chest while talking to him and moved even closer. The criminal complaint said Rodriguez chest-bumped Mincey at one point.
