16-year-old arrested in 2019 Crystal homicide

Crystal Police have arrested a 16-year-old in connection to a February 2019 homicide. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office is now reviewing the case.

Officers responded to Crystal Village Apartments on Feb. 15, 2019, and found 20-year-old Deshawn McCabe lying in the parking lot with a gunshot wound to his chest. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful and he died at the scene.

McCabe left behind a young son and a devastated family.

In the days after the shooting, his father, Lamond McCabe, told 5 EYEWITENSS NEWS that his son had recently pledged “he was going to be the best father in the world.” His mother, Chauntel McCabe, described him as someone who “touched your soul, he was so caring, so loving.”

Crystal Police said investigators have been pursuing leads, conducting numerous interviews, doing computer and forensic investigations and executing numerous search warrants over the course of 14 months.

Crystal shooting victim considered 'thoughtful' and 'a good dad'

“The other folks we were interacting with as part of this were all juveniles and juveniles tend to be a little bit more difficult for us to track down so that was part of the problem,” said Deputy Chief Brian Hubbard.

He said, however, their investigation led them to a juvenile male, who was 15 years old at the time of the shooting.

“We think they connected through social media,” said Hubbard. “[That] is how they arranged to meet in this location.”

Hubbard said neither McCabe nor the suspect lived at that apartment complex or in the city of Crystal. Police believe the deadly encounter was the first time the pair had met each other.

“The information and the evidence that we put together, the encounter was somehow drug-related,” said Hubbard. “How it might've gone south from there we are not exactly sure.”

Crystal Police alerted other agencies of the suspect. St. Paul Police took the now 16-year-old into custody on an unrelated arrest warrant on Thursday and transferred him to Crystal Police.

The teenager is now being held at the Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center on probable cause second-degree homicide.

McCabe’s family said they have mixed emotions, they want justice but don’t believe the circumstances surrounding his death. They are asking anyone with information to share it with police.

Crystal Police said they are still investigating the case. Anyone with information should call the police department’s tip line, 763-531-1020.