Shooting in Powderhorn is Minneapolis' 15th homicide

Minneapolis police were investigating the city's 15th homicide of the year Wednesday after being called to an alley on the city's south side where a resident had found a man with gunshot wounds.

Officers on patrol around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday heard shots fired near E. 33rd Street and Chicago Avenue S. Minutes later, a resident called 911 to report a man down in an alley in the 3500 block between Chicago and Elliot Avenues S. in the Powderhorn Park neighborhood, said Sgt. William Palmer.

The victim, Ricky Albert Rowan, 29, was rushed to Hennepin County Medical Center in "grave condition," Palmer said. He died a few hours later.

No one has been arrested. Police said the man's death doesn't appear to be random.

TIM HARLOW AND DAVID CHANEN

Man charged in slaying of domestic partner A man arrested Monday in a south Minneapolis slaying was charged today with second-degree murder in the death of his boyfriend, the city's 14th homicide of the year.

Police arrested Harold Meeks, 38, on Monday after they were called to an apartment next to Ted Cook's 19th Hole Barbeque in the 2800 block of E. 38th St.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County District Court, Meeks strangled Reich after they argued Friday. Meeks admitted that he strangled Reich, then put his body in a bathtub.

The Hennepin County medical examiner's office said Reich was strangled.

Meeks was being held in the Hennepin County jail in lieu of $500,000 bail.

TIM HARLOW

Bloomington man pleads guilty in drug case A Bloomington man faces a maximum penalty of life in prison when he is sentenced for distributing crack cocaine, the U.S. attorney's office said.

Brown also faces up to 10 years on the firearm charge. A sentencing date has not been set.

According to his plea agreement, Brown was in possession of and intended to distribute 246 grams of a substance containing cocaine. Authorities found the substance packaged in 1-ounce quantities in a backpack. They also found a semi-automatic pistol loaded with a magazine containing eight rounds.

Brown was convicted of assault in Hennepin County in 2007.

Bloomington police responding to a domestic assault call on Jan. 5 found Brown inside an apartment where they also found marijuana, crack cocaine and cash on a bed. More crack, a gun and cash were found in an open backpack, an affidavit from the Drug Enforcement Administration said.

TIM HARLOW

The victim was identified as Jonathan Patrick Patterson, of North St. Paul, said St. Paul Police spokesman Peter Panos.

Speed is believed to have been a factor in the crash, which happened at 2:50 a.m. near the intersection of W. 7th and Douglas streets, Panos said.

It is unknown if alcohol was involved. Patterson was wearing a seat belt when his black SUV rolled over, police said.

TIM HARLOW

Crash victim, 88, dies of injuries An 88-year-old Wright County woman involved in a traffic crash last month has died, authorities said Wednesday.

The collision occurred late in the morning on May 4 at Hwy. 23 and 10th Av. in Milaca, Minn., the examiner's office said.

The car Violet was riding in on northbound 10th Avenue entered the intersection after observing a stop sign and was struck by a car with the right of way heading east on Hwy. 23, the State Patrol said.

No one else in either vehicle was seriously hurt.

The driver of the northbound car, Emma Burrows, 84, of Brainerd, told authorities that she didn't see the other car before the collision.