Man charged with murder after stabbing outside Brooklyn Center apartment building

Krystal Frasier KSTP

(Hennepin County Jail)

A 28-year-old man is now charged with second-degree murder following a stabbing outside of a Brooklyn Center apartment building earlier this week.

According to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, Demetrius Lamar Harris of New Hope has been charged in the death of 37-year-old Antonio Levar Moore of St. Louis Park.

The medical examiner’s office previously classified Moore’s death as a homicide, saying in its report that he died from a sharp force injury of the abdomen.

Court documents say officers were called to a parking lot outside of an apartment complex at around 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 2, for a report of two males fighting, including one who had been stabbed.

When police arrived, they found Moore had been stabbed in his abdomen. Despite being taken to an area hospital, he died from his injury.

Documents say a witness — who said Harris is the father of her child, although they’re no longer in a relationship — told police that Moore had been fighting with Harris.

Harris had gone to her apartment that evening and got upset when she received a call from another man. He then allegedly began yelling and swearing, and also punched the witness on the side of her face, according to documents. She then called her brother, identified as Moore, for help.

Moore then came over to the apartment, and the witness went out to meet him in the parking lot, according to the complaint. That’s when Harris came out of an area between the building’s garages and Moore confronted him.

They began to throw punches but didn’t make contact. However, the witness told police she looked at her phone to call another sibling and then looked up to find Moore on the ground. The witness was then allegedly told by Harris to check on Moore to make sure he was OK and to also call an ambulance. Harris then ran away.

Harris was eventually found after a search. He is expected to be in court Friday at 1:30 p.m.

If convicted, Harris faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.

A prepared statement was issued by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office when a charge was formally filed against Harris:

“My thoughts today are with the victim’s family, and especially his sister who he was protecting during this incident. We will not tolerate violence in our communities. I’m grateful to the Brooklyn Center Police Department for working quickly to respond to the scene, identify the person responsible, and apprehend him. We will now aggressively prosecute this case to hold Mr. Harris accountable.”
Mary Moriarty, Hennepin County Attorney