Jury convicts man of murder in 2021 Minneapolis shooting
[anvplayer video=”5144309″ station=”998122″]
A jury has reached a verdict in the case of a man charged with second-degree murder after a shooting in downtown Minneapolis last year.
Jurors have found Jawan Carroll, 25, guilty on all counts after they deliberated from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Wednesday.
The shooting happened outside Monarch nightclub in downtown Minneapolis in the early morning hours of May 22.
The shooting killed two people and injured eight others.
Carroll was charged with two counts of second-degree murder and seven counts of attempted second-degree murder. Carroll faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and will be sentenced on Dec. 12.
FILE - Jawan Carroll's booking photo (Hennepin County Sheriff's Office)
RELATED: St. Paul man faces multiple charges in connection to fatal downtown Minneapolis shooting
The two who died were identified as 21-year-old Charlie Johnson, of Golden Valley, and 24-year-old Christopher Jones, of Brooklyn Park.
Investigators learned that Carroll and Jones had had a verbal confrontation prior to the shooting and that the confrontation had escalated.
Investigators also learned Johnson was waiting for a ride when an errant bullet struck him in the back, killing him.
“I just thank the jury for finding the truth. It was pretty clear what the truth was and what the lies were, and there were a lot of lies so … just pleased they found the truth,” Greg Johnson, Charlie’s father, said after leaving court Wednesday.
Johnson also described the feelings he had as the verdict was read.
“I felt it all the way down to my toes I guess because you never know what the word’s gonna be and I felt like it was the right one … I wish I could say I was happy about it but I’m happy that menace is off the street.”
Of the verdict, he added, “I honestly don’t know if I could call it relief, it’s just some closure. Some closure. Just one thing we don’t have to dread in the future.”
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS Reporter Eric Chaloux recently reported on a newly-installed memorial on the University of St. Thomas’s St. Paul campus, dedicated to Johnson — who was a student at the time — and other students whose lives were cut short.
RELATED: St. Thomas dedicates memorial to students who’ve died
Johnson noted he and his family wear orange “I am Charlie” bracelets that help them carry on his son’s spirit and live like he taught them: “Be kind, have empathy for other people, have an adventurous spirit and get out and explore the world with curiosity,” Johnson said.
Jury selection for Carroll’s trial began last week.
Carroll took the stand in his own defense on Tuesday, claiming self-defense in the case. Carroll said he had consumed alcohol before going to the nightclub, adding, “I didn’t get entirely drunk because I knew I had to drive.” He acknowledged he went to the nightclub with a gun on him.
When asked by lawyers why he brought a gun downtown, Carroll said his brother was killed in 2015 and he brought it for protection.
Carroll said he had paid extra to skip the line at the nightclub and didn’t go through the metal detectors; he said he knew a staff member at the door.
Carroll said he got into an argument with a man he knew who was also at the nightclub and alleged that man pulled a gun first and took aim at Carroll. Carroll told the jury that’s when he pulled his own gun and shot the other man.
When asked why he didn’t go to a police officer who was working security at the nightclub when he saw the other man’s gun, Carroll responded that “there wasn’t time.”
Stay with 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS and KSTP.com for updates.