Woman charged with role in fatal shooting of violent intruder in Minneapolis apartment

A 37-year-old woman has been charged with playing a role in the fatal shooting of a man who barged into a south Minneapolis apartment over the weekend before fleeing the scene with the suspected gunman, according to charges filed Thursday.

Samantha L. Barth of Minneapolis was charged with second-degree murder and aiding an offender after the fact in connection with the death of Marcellus M. Strickland, 27, of Minneapolis, on Feb. 5.

Barth remains jailed in lieu of $200,000 bail ahead of a court appearance on March 9. Defense attorney Bryan Leary said, "Ms. Barth is uninvolved in the tragic circumstances involved in this case, and she is eager to see that the true facts are established in court."

Strickland was shot several times shortly after 3 a.m. at the home in the 3800 block of S. Grand Avenue and died less than an hour later at HCMC. Police said that Strickland entered the home in violation of a court-issued restraining order.

The charges against Barth identify by name a 31-year-old St. Paul man as a co-defendant who is accused by at least one witness of being the shooter.

However, there has been no criminal complaint filed against the man, and he's not in the Hennepin County jail.

The County Attorney's Office has so far declined to clarify the lack of public documentation regarding his complicity, and Leary said he has no information about the co-defendant. The Star Tribune generally does not identify suspects before they are charged.

According to the complaint against Barth:

Police went to the apartment, where a woman told officers that Strickland, the father of her child, was shot and the suspects were gone.

The woman said Strickland had been "continually sending her threatening messages" that night before he showed up at her apartment, kicked down the door and yelled for people to leave. He grabbed her by the hair and threw her onto the couch.

Moments later, three gunshots were fired, the woman said.

Another woman in the apartment at the time said she saw Barth take a handgun from her purse and give it to her accomplice, who fired three shots. The second one sent Strickland to the floor.