The Minnesota Court of Appeals has overturned the conviction of a man who received a 27-year sentence last year for a fatal shooting outside the Elks club in north Minneapolis during a memorial vigil.
Deandre D. Turner, 41, was sentenced in August 2023 in Hennepin County District Court after a jury convicted him of second-degree intentional murder in connection with the killing of Andrew T. McGinley on June 30, 2021.
In its ruling last week, the Court of Appeals said Turner was denied a fair trial “due to evidentiary errors and multiple instances of prosecutorial misconduct.”
Specifically, the ruling pointed out, surveillance video that captured the shooting “is extremely poor; it was taken from an old video surveillance system. It is grainy, blurry and choppy. As a result, the shooter is identifiable mainly by the color of his clothing. … The video does not clearly show the shooter’s face.”
The ruling also said a witness who was questioned by police “did not offer Turner’s name … during this interview. Instead, at the sergeant’s suggestion, [he] agreed that Turner shot the victim.”
Police were unable to locate any other witnesses who said they saw the shot that killed McGinley, the ruling continued.
As for the misconduct of prosecutors during the trial, the appellate court cited the following: referring during closing arguments to witnesses who did not testify and insinuating to the jurors without evidence that Turner was in a gang and was under the influence of drugs at the gathering.
Department of Corrections records show that Turner, who remains in custody, has more than 15 years yet to serve in prison, followed by supervised release until May 2049.
