Latest news with #DerrickThompson
CBS News
5 days ago
- CBS News
Derrick Thompson to be sentenced in Minneapolis crash that killed 5 young women
Several Minnesota families will finally see justice served on Thursday morning after five young women were killed in a high-speed crash two summers ago in Minneapolis. A jury found 32-year-old Derrick Thompson guilty last month in the deaths of Sahra Gesaade, 20; Salma Abdikadir, 20; Sabiriin Ali 17; Sagal Hersi, 19; and Siham Odhowa, 19. The group of friends were preparing for a friend's wedding at the time of the crash. Thompson was convicted of five counts of third-degree murder and 10 counts of criminal vehicular homicide. Law enforcement say he topped speeds of 100 mph while driving erratically on Interstate 35W on the night of June 16, 2023. A state trooper testified they were following Thompson without emergency lights activated, and saw him speed off onto East Lake Street, where he struck and instantly killed the victims. His sentencing hearing is set to start Thursday at 10 a.m. in a Hennepin County courtroom. Many of the victims' families are expected to be on hand, as they were during the trial. "It's over and the girls can finally rest in peace. Still, [Thompson] can call his mom and dad and tell them he loves them, but our daughters will never call us," said Fadumo Warsame, Gesaade's mother, following the verdict. "We're never going to see their wedding. We're never going to see our grandchildren." Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said her office plans to seek a lengthy sentence. "Mr. Thompson is being held accountable, and we will do everything we can to ensure that he can never do this again," Moriarty said last month. Thompson's defense argued his brother was actually behind the wheel driving. Damarco Thompson testified he wasn't in the Cadillac during the crash, and was only briefly inside when his brother rented it earlier at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Thompson was convicted of several federal drug and illegal firearm charges. His next federal court hearing is set for Aug. 25. WCCO will have a crew inside the courtroom and will bring you updates both on air and online.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Yahoo
Jury finds Derrick Thompson guilty on all charges in crash that killed 5 women
Jury finds Derrick Thompson guilty on all charges in crash that killed 5 women originally appeared on Bring Me The News. Derrick Thompson has been found guilty on all 15 charges for causing the death of five women in a horrific car crash in Minneapolis Thompson was traveling at speeds of up to 100 mph in an SUV rented from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on the evening of June 16, 2023, when he exited I-35W at Lake Street and ran a red light. He smashed into a vehicle carrying Sahra Gesaade, 20, Salma Abdikadir, 20, Sagal Hersi, 19, Siham Odhowa, 19, and Sabiriin Mohamoud Ali, 17, killing all of them. In court on Friday, a jury returned a verdict of guilty on all 15 counts – five counts of 3rd-degree murder and ten counts of criminal vehicular homicide. Thompson had claimed he wasn't behind the wheel at the time of the crash, with his defense team arguing investigators had failed to determine it was his brother, Damarco, who was at fault. Thompson, the son of former Minnesota Representative John Thompson, was allegedly was weaving in and out of traffic on I-35W shortly before exiting and running the red light at the end of the ramp. According to the Sahan Journal, the women, some of whom were related, had been together to get henna tattoos applied at Karmel Mall ahead of a friend's wedding. Their families are expected to speak following the conclusion of Friday's hearing. This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jun 6, 2025, where it first appeared.
The Independent
07-06-2025
- The Independent
Jurors have convicted a Minnesota man of killing 5 young woman in a 2023 vehicle crash
A state court jury convicted a Minneapolis-area man Friday of third-degree murder and vehicular homicide in the deaths of five young women in a crash that authorities said was caused by him speeding, running a red light and slamming into their car. Jurors in Hennepin County District Court deliberated two days before reaching their verdict in the case of Derrick John Thompson, 29, of Brooklyn Park, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported. In November, a federal court jury convicted Thompson on drug and firearms charges because investigators found a handgun, ammunition and illegal drugs in his vehicle after the June 2023 crash, and he is awaiting sentencing in that case. He was convicted Friday of 15 charges and his sentencing is set for July 24. Third-degree murder is unintentionally causing a death through 'eminently dangerous' actions and with 'a depraved mind, without regard for human life.' 'His choices that day scarred many lives and affected an entire community,' Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty told reporters following the verdict, according to KARE-TV. The Minneapolis crash victims — Salma Abdikadir, Siham Adam, Sabiriin Ali, Sahra Gesaade and Sagal Hersi — were between 17 and 20 years old, on their way home from preparations for a friend's wedding. Their deaths sparked sorrow and outage among Minnesota's sizeable Somali American population. Prosecutors have said Thompson was driving a black Cadillac Escalade on a Minnesota freeway at 95 mph (153 kph) in a 55 mph- (89 kph-) speed zone and abruptly cut across four lanes of traffic to exit the freeway, flying by a state highway patrol trooper. Thompson's defense attorney, Tyler Bliss, raised questions about whether Thompson's brother might have played a role in the crash that authorities did not investigate. The brother was not charged and testified that he didn't drive the SUV the night of the crash and Thompson was the last person he saw behind the wheel. Bliss called that testimony 'self-serving.' Thompson previously served part of an eight-year prison sentence in California in connection with a 2018 hit-and-run accident that severely injured a woman in the Santa Barbara area. He was released from prison there months before the crash in Minneapolis. Court records show that Thompson is the son of a former Democratic state representative from St. Paul who was sharply critical of police during his one term in office.
Associated Press
06-06-2025
- Associated Press
Jurors have convicted a Minnesota man of killing 5 young woman in a 2023 vehicle crash
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A state court jury convicted a Minneapolis-area man Friday of third-degree murder and vehicular homicide in the deaths of five young women in a crash that authorities said was caused by him speeding, running a red light and slamming into their car. Jurors in Hennepin County District Court deliberated two days before reaching their verdict in the case of Derrick John Thompson, 29, of Brooklyn Park, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported. In November, a federal court jury convicted Thompson on drug and firearms charges because investigators found a handgun, ammunition and illegal drugs in his vehicle after the June 2023 crash, and he is awaiting sentencing in that case. He was convicted Friday of 15 charges and his sentencing is set for July 24. Third-degree murder is unintentionally causing a death through 'eminently dangerous' actions and with 'a depraved mind, without regard for human life.' 'His choices that day scarred many lives and affected an entire community,' Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty told reporters following the verdict, according to KARE-TV. The Minneapolis crash victims — Salma Abdikadir, Siham Adam, Sabiriin Ali, Sahra Gesaade and Sagal Hersi — were between 17 and 20 years old, on their way home from preparations for a friend's wedding. Their deaths sparked sorrow and outage among Minnesota's sizeable Somali American population. Prosecutors have said Thompson was driving a black Cadillac Escalade on a Minnesota freeway at 95 mph (153 kph) in a 55 mph- (89 kph-) speed zone and abruptly cut across four lanes of traffic to exit the freeway, flying by a state highway patrol trooper. Thompson's defense attorney, Tyler Bliss, raised questions about whether Thompson's brother might have played a role in the crash that authorities did not investigate. The brother was not charged and testified that he didn't drive the SUV the night of the crash and Thompson was the last person he saw behind the wheel. Bliss called that testimony 'self-serving.' Thompson previously served part of an eight-year prison sentence in California in connection with a 2018 hit-and-run accident that severely injured a woman in the Santa Barbara area. He was released from prison there months before the crash in Minneapolis. Court records show that Thompson is the son of a former Democratic state representative from St. Paul who was sharply critical of police during his one term in office.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Officers in Minneapolis raid wore distinct patches. One was authorized, another wasn't, feds say.
A patch referencing St. Paul on an ICE agent's uniform was authorized, but that wasn't the case for an ATF agent's patch that people noticed during a federal law enforcement operation in Minneapolis this week, the agencies said Friday. A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer wore a circular patch on the arm of his uniform reading 'St. Paul Field Office Special Response Team.' Each of the 25 ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Special Response Teams across the U.S. has a unique patch, an ICE spokesperson said Friday. The St. Paul patch is intended to depict an 'ancient Scandinavian warrior and a Vegvisir, or 'wayfinder,' and ties into the regional identifiers for Minnesota including a nod to the Scandinavian heritage of many of the early European settlers in Minnesota,' the spokesperson said in a statement. The imagery raised questions for some people. Brandon Schorsch, who took video of the patch and posted a photo of it on social media, wrote: 'I am deeply concerned about this patch.' The vegvisir has been co-opted by some far right extremist groups, according to a senior research analyst with the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project, though more information has to be known about a person's intentions to determine the significance of the image in a particular use. The ICE patch 'is in no way an affiliation to an extremist group,' the agency spokesperson said. On Tuesday, a large federal law enforcement presence drew protests in South Minneapolis from people concerned it was an immigration raid. Officials from the FBI, ATF and the Department of Homeland Security gathered with tactical vehicles at the corner of Lake Street and Bloomington Avenue late in the morning. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said it 'was related to a criminal search warrant for drugs and money laundering and was not related to immigration enforcement.' It was one of eight search warrants 'for a transnational criminal organization,' according to Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt. 'Federal investigators conducted a groundbreaking criminal operation today — Minnesota's first under the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) umbrella — marking a new chapter in how we confront complex, multidimensional threats,' Jamie Holt, ICE Homeland Security Investigations special agent in charge for St. Paul, said in a statement. Derrick Thompson guilty of all charges in Minneapolis high-speed crash that killed 5 young women Minneapolis man sentenced for stabbing, hanging St. Paul woman's dog after argument Stillwater: Lift Bridge rescue call was false alarm, authorities say St. Paul police name detective, officer, employee of the year Verdict awaits after closing arguments in Derrick Thompson's trial for crash that killed 5 Schorsch, of Minneapolis, heard from his wife about armored vehicles and the large amount of law enforcement gathered Tuesday. 'That's going to make people feel frightened,' he said. He went to the area and was recording video when he noticed the ICE agent wearing the patch. He had an audible, 'Ohhh,' reaction on the video when he saw it. 'In my job, I do look out for things like this,' said Schorsch, who works as the combatting hate organizer for Jewish Community Action, though he was not there in his work capacity on Tuesday. The Southern Poverty Law Center says there are Neo-Völkisch groups that 'rely on a romanticized Viking aesthetic and mythos — imagery they use to perpetuate their belief in white racial superiority. This adaptable and covert messaging, anchored by a nationwide network of 'kindreds,' has allowed these groups to grow in recent years.' More people are on the lookout for symbols that may have nefarious meanings, Schorsch said. An ICE agent was seen last week in Martha's Vineyard, Mass., with a tattoo of a Valknot on his arm. The symbol is used in Norse mythology. 'Some white supremacists, particularly racist Odinists, have appropriated the Valknot to use as a racist symbol,' according to the Anti-Defamation League. Schorsch also saw two ATF agents on Tuesday with a small patch on their uniforms that said, 'The Others,' and he photographed one of them. The agent seen in the photo is an ATF special agent assigned to a sheriff's office taskforce, said Ashlee Sherrill, a spokeswoman in the ATF's St. Paul Field Division, in response to a reporter's questions. 'The patch in question is not an authorized part of the ATF uniform and has been addressed internally,' Sherrill said, adding that she couldn't provide further information on personnel matters. It's not clear what the patch was meant to convey. St. Paul police name detective, officer, employee of the year Don't pay for traffic tickets over text: DPS warns of scam messages Who's in charge? CDC's leadership 'crisis' apparent amid new COVID-19 vaccine guidance DOC commissioner asks for patience from Stillwater prison families, dismisses idea of reopening Appleton prison Measles vaccination rates drop after COVID-19 pandemic in counties across the US
