On Friday, Derrick John Thompson of Brooklyn Park was found guilty of the following federal charges:
• Possession with intent to distribute fentanyl
• Illegal possession of a firearm as a felon
• Carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime

The verdict was reached following a trial that began earlier this week. Court documents show jurors received the case just after 4 p.m. on Thursday and ended deliberations for the day less than an hour later. They then reconvened at 8:30 a.m. Friday.

In the federal complaint, officials say the amount of drugs found in Thompson’s vehicle after the crash constitutes more than a “user amount” and is consistent with drug distribution and sale. Additionally, Thompson is not allowed to carry a firearm, as he has a previous felony conviction.

Thompson was indicted in December after prosecutors filed a complaint for those charges six months earlier. He was convicted of fifth-degree drug possession in 2015 and also pleaded guilty to multiple charges related to a 2018 hit-and-run crash in California that left a woman seriously injured.

At the state level, Thompson was charged with 10 counts of criminal vehicular homicide. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty has previously said her office will “seek a separate sentence for each victim if Thompson is convicted.”

According to court records, a Minnesota state trooper saw a Cadillac Escalade SUV driving north in the furthest left lane on Interstate 35W at 95 mph. The trooper reported that the Cadillac was weaving in and out of the lanes of traffic. Before the trooper could initiate a traffic stop, the Cadillac cut across all four lanes of traffic and exited at Lake Street in Minneapolis.

The Cadillac then ran a red light at the intersection of Lake Street and Second Avenue South before slamming into a car with five young women inside. They were later identified as Sabiriin Ali, Sahra Gessade, Salma Abdikadir, Sagal Hersi and Siham Adam.

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office says that Thompson, the driver of the Cadillac, ran from the crash but was later found at a nearby Taco Bell with a broken hip and a cut on his head. When asked how he received the injuries, Thompson told officers it was an old cut and that he had fallen earlier in the evening.

While at the scene, Minneapolis police officers found a receipt from Hertz Rental Car stating Thompson was the renter of the vehicle. A witness later provided law enforcement with a video from the crash in which Thompson approaches the witness and asks for a ride. A second witness who saw the crash identified Thompson in a line-up as the driver of the Cadillac, saying they were “one hundred percent positive” in their identification.

Officers searched Thompson’s rental car after the crash and found a loaded Glock pistol with an extended magazine as well as baggies containing more than 2,100 fentanyl pills, 14 grams of powdered fentanyl, 13 MDMA pills and 35 grams of cocaine, federal prosecutors say.

Thompson rented the vehicle 24 minutes before the crash, court records note.

Minneapolis police also confirmed with 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that Thompson is the son of former state Rep. John Thompson.

“The Derrick Thompson case has always been difficult,” Jack Rice, former prosecutor and current criminal defense attorney, who has no connection to these cases, said about the complexities of having both a state and federal case rooted in the same incident. 

“He could be looking at decades to life,” Rice told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS about Thompson’s impending prison sentence. 

But when that will be still remains unclear as a date for the federal sentencing has not been set. 

One thing Rice predicts: the state won’t move forward until Thompson is sentenced in the federal case — which can include pushing future court dates, including Thompson’s next set appearance in early November. 

“He’s in custody, he is going nowhere with the benefit of seeing how the feds are going to sentence. Once the fed’s sentence, it can have a massive impact upon the state case,” Rice said. “We’re still in that sort of odd space where we don’t know how it’s all going to play out.”

Jeff Storms, the attorney representing the victim’s families, provided the following statement:

“The families are grateful for the excellent work by the federal prosecution and investigative teams that led to these convictions. While this was an important milestone, it is only one step in seeking justice and accountability for the senseless killing of these beautiful and promising young women. The families now look forward to the continued pursuit of justice by county prosecutors on the state murder charges.”