Man gets 6½ years for illegal firearm possession in connection with death of off-duty firefighter
Marquise Trevone Hammonds-Ford (Hennepin County Jail)
A man was sentenced Wednesday to over six years (78 months) in prison for illegal firearm possession in connection with the death of 40-year-old Joseph Johns, an off-duty firefighter.
Court records show Marquise Trevone Hammonds-Ford, 29, pleaded guilty to illegal firearm possession on Oct. 1. In exchange for his guilty plea, charges of first-degree riot and machine gun possession were dismissed.
Hammonds-Ford was given credit for 150 days already served.
As previously reported, Minneapolis officers were called to the 900 block of Cedar Avenue South on May 5 on a report of a shooting. There they found Johns with a gunshot wound to his chest. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Johns was with a group celebrating the 19th anniversary of the Tru Breed Motorcycle Club.
According to charging documents, two groups of men got into a fight that started after Hammonds-Ford yelled, provocatively pointed a gun and fired shots above the heads of the men in the other group.
After those gunshots were fired, a criminal complaint states that several people in both groups started shooting at each other, catching Johns in the crossfire as he directed traffic outside the bar.
In a news release on Wednesday, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said forensic evidence indicates Hammonds-Ford did not fire the shot that “directly caused Mr. Johns’ death.” However, state prosecutors say he “played a principal role in instigating the shootout.”
The complaint adds that Hammonds-Ford is a “well-known member” of the “Highs” street gang in north Minneapolis. One of his associates was also struck during the shootout and was later dropped off at a hospital with injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening.
In total, officers recovered 63 discharged cartridge casings in the area, and testing indicated that at least seven guns were fired in the shootout, court documents state.
Police have not announced any developments in the investigation of who actually shot Johns.