A man harboring romantic jealousy waited until his rival was in a vulnerable position and then fatally shot him along a highway sound wall in north Minneapolis, according to authorities.
Jermaine E. Harris, 28, of Minneapolis, was charged Tuesday in Hennepin County District Court with second- degree murder in the Nov. 21 killing of Richard L. Jinkins, also of Minneapolis. Harris remains jailed in lieu of $2 million bail.
According to the criminal complaint:
A longtime acquaintance of Harris and Jinkins said bad feelings had been simmering for a long time between the two men because Jinkins had slept with Harris' former girlfriend, who also is the mother of Harris' child.
The acquaintance said that he, Harris, Jinkins and another man met up on the night of the killing at a north Minneapolis house to obtain illicit drugs. They parked their SUV along a grassy strip next to the Interstate 94 wall near 3rd Street and 26th Avenue N., and all four got high.
Soon after, Jinkins and the acquaintance got out of the SUV and went to the wall to urinate. That is when, according to the mutual acquaintance, Harris got out of the vehicle and shot Jinkins before driving off.
The SUV was tracked down at an address for the ex-girlfriend in Columbus, Ohio. Harris was arrested Monday in Brooklyn Center.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
