Jurors acquit man charged with murder after witness fails to appear for trial

Krystal Frasier KSTP

Credit: MGN/Pexels

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office says a man who was charged with two counts of second-degree murder following a 2021 shooting in a downtown Minneapolis parking lot has been acquitted.

According to court officials, 24-year-old Kevion Gibbs of West Point, Miss., was charged with one count of intentional second-degree murder and one count of unintentional second-degree murder.

Police said the shooting happened at around 2 a.m. at a parking lot near Fifth and Hennepin avenues on June 5, 2021. As previously reported by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, a Metro Transit police officer who was at the nearby light rail platform saw two people arguing in a parking lot near Augie’s. A group got into the parking lot, and the victim punched a man who fell to the ground before running away.

The suspect then aimed a gun at the victim and shot at him multiple times. Metro Transit police went after the suspect, shooting him once in the leg before placing him under arrest.

According to the criminal complaint, the victim, 33-year-old Deandre Smith, was shot three times in the torso.

A court register shows a jury trial was scheduled to be held from Feb. 8 through Feb. 16.

Friday, Hennepin County officials told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that Gibbs claimed self-defense, and it was their “burden to disprove self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt.”

The attorney’s office said a key witness didn’t appear when he was supposed to testify, and “the jury then determined the state didn’t meet the burden of disproving self-defense.”