A man who authorities say shot two men outside Target Field last spring in a retaliatory gang shooting was sentenced to more than 28 years in prison Thursday, authorities said.
Hennepin County District Judge Fred Karasov sentenced James Davis, 28, of Brooklyn Center, to 339 months in prison in connection with the shootings of Kibbie Walker and Cortez Blakemore outside the downtown ballpark in the early morning hours of April 12, 2014, said Chuck Laszewski, a spokesman for the Hennepin County attorney's office.
Davis was found guilty last month of two counts of attempted murder for the benefit of a gang, authorities said. At the time, prosecutors expressed frustration with the victims' lack of cooperation in the case.
Karasov sentenced Davis to 186 months in prison for shooting Walker and 153 months for shooting Blakemore, ordering that the sentences be served consecutively. Both men survived.
Prosecutors said the shooting unfolded shortly before 3 a.m. as Walker and Blakemore were leaving their cleaning jobs at the stadium. As they walked out of the left-field gate, they were confronted by three armed men in hooded sweatshirts, Laszewski said.
Gunfire broke out and Blakemore was seriously wounded when a bullet pierced his spinal column, according to authorities. Walker was shot in the chest and the abdomen.
Authorities believe Walker, a purported member of the Taliban street gang, was targeted after posting a video on YouTube mocking the shooting death of Tyrone "Ty Crack" Washington, a high-ranking 1-9 member, an incident that set off a series of shootings between the two gangs.
Libor Jany
