Man receives nearly 34 years for gang-related Minneapolis murder

A 20-year-old man was sentenced to nearly 34 years in prison last week after he entered a plea deal for his role in a 2021 murder outside a Minneapolis corner store.

Court records show Keon Eligiah Pruitt of Minneapolis pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder on Friday in the death of 25-year-old Darryl Ramon Wells Jr. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors agreed to drop two counts of first-degree murder.

At the same hearing, Hennepin County Judge Tamara Garcia sentenced Pruitt to 405 months in prison (33.75 years) with credit for 556 days served. He will also have to pay more than $25,000 in restitution.

According to a criminal complaint, Pruitt participated in an attack alongside five other gang members the evening of Aug. 8, 2021, at Skyline Market at the corner of Glenwood and Morgan avenues in the Harrison neighborhood.

Prosecutors say Pruitt had driven a stolen white Porsche Macan to the market with two juvenile passengers. After two occupants of a Dodge Charger shot at Wells inside the store, the driver of the Dodge signaled to Pruitt, who drove up and clipped the victim as he ran away.

Wells ran away and collapsed in a nearby alley, the complaint states. Pruitt followed him in the Porsche, and the two juvenile passengers jumped out when the vehicle got to Wells’ location. The juveniles shot at Wells before getting back in the vehicle and leaving the scene.

Police note that Wells was not affiliated with any gang.

Pruitt is the third person involved in the case to be sentenced.

Dantrell Deon Johnson and Gregory Dwayane Hamilton — who shot at Wells inside the market — were each sentenced to 35 years in prison in December for second-degree murder charges.

The driver of the Charger, William Ravon Johnson, faces two counts of first-degree murder and is set to go on trial on March 27. One of the juveniles who shot at Wells, Christopher Shawn-Michael Johnson, was certified as an adult and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. His sentencing is set for April.