Man charged in slaying of Minneapolis civil rights leader's grandson

Social media posts and DNA evidence led police to a Minneapolis man who they say fatally shot the grandson of a local civil rights leader last month, according to charges.

Dontae D. White, 23, made his first appearance in court Friday in the death of 27-year-old Kevin Beasley, the grandson of Spike Moss. Bail was set at $1 million.

White is charged in Hennepin County District Court with one count each of second-degree murder with intent and felon in possession of a firearm.

White was arrested in Chicago and extradited to Minnesota last week, according to the Hennepin County Attorney's Office.

According to the criminal complaint: Police responded to a shooting about 2 a.m. April 18 at a home in the 1100 block of N. Irving Avenue. They found Beasley dead inside.

Witnesses told police Beasley lived there with a roommate. The two were hosting a party and had turned away three men who arrived around midnight, telling them to come back later when the party started.

The three men were White, White's brother and a friend, the charges said. They later returned to the party, and at some point Beasley confronted White's brother about his presence, though the complaint did not specify why.

Beasley turned to his girlfriend and was shot multiple times, sending guests scattering.

Witnesses told police the shooter walked back into the room and fired more shots at Beasley as he lay on the floor.

Police viewed Snapchat social-media accounts for White and his brother. Before the party, White allegedly said in a video that he was going to "bust" somebody, the complaint said.

Surveillance video from the area allegedly captured White running away afterward as his two companions fled in a car. It showed White throwing his jacket on a garage roof. Police recovered the jacket and an empty 9mm pistol nearby, according to the charges.

The gun was traced to bullets found at the crime scene, and DNA from hair on it matched White, the charges said. Another DNA sample from the gun allegedly matched White's girlfriend.