A 30-year-old woman who took advantage of her gender to fool security at a downtown Minneapolis strip club has been convicted of fatally shooting an adversary in the head.

Jurors on Monday convicted Jasmine N. Jones, of St. Paul, of second-degree murder in the October 2014 shooting of Lakisha M. Neal, 32, of Minneapolis, inside Augie's Cabaret.

Jones, who had been free on bail, was taken from the Hennepin County courtroom to jail after the verdict was read. She will be sentenced on March 14.

Augie's owner Brian Michael, whose Hennepin Avenue club is staffed with several security personnel and a metal detector at the door, said a few days after the killing that Jones avoided being caught coming in with a gun "by concealing her firearm in her crotch area."

Michael said Jones and her purse were searched after she set off the metal detector and she was asked whether she had a firearm, Michael added. She responded that she did not and was allowed to enter, he said.

His security staff, which includes men and women, "did not grab her crotch area," Michael said, citing "gender sensitivities."

According to police and prosecutors:

Officers entered the club about 1 a.m. on Oct. 18, 2014, and found Neal in a pool of blood and a spent cartridge from a handgun under her body.

A woman who saw the shooting said Jones and the victim "have had an ongoing feud," the complaint read. The witness said she heard Jones call Neal a derogatory name, leading to an altercation on the dance floor that turned physical and prompted bouncers to separate the rivals.

Neal and Jones moved toward the back of the club. Jones drew a handgun and shot Neal once in the head.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482