Man found guilty of 2 counts of murder in Minneapolis drive-by shooting

A Minneapolis man has been found guilty of two counts of murder in a drive-by shooting last year.

A Hennepin County jury found Tremaine Bucholz, 27, guilty of first-degree murder while committing a drive-by shooting and second-degree intentional murder in the killing of Stevi Palacio.

On Aug. 9, 2023, Minneapolis police responded to the intersection of Thomas Avenue North and Oak Park Avenue on a report of shots fired and a woman screaming. Law enforcement found Palacio lying facedown on the sidewalk with a gunshot wound to the back.

According to authorities, life-saving measures were attempted but she was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Officers searched the area and found video from a nearby doorbell that showed a cargo van stopped on the corner of Thomas Avenue and Oak Park Avenue as Palacio walked towards the intersection. As she walked closer to the corner, the van slowly pulled out towards her.

The van then stopped next to Palacio, and a shot was fired from the passenger window, according to court records. The woman began running towards the corner and the passenger in the van, later identified as Bucholz, fired seven more shots, with one of them hitting her in the back.

On Aug. 10, investigators found the van — registered to the driver of the vehicle — parked in an underground garage of his apartment complex on the 2200 block of Golden Valley Road.

Bucholz was arrested on Sept. 5 and admitted to knowing the driver of the vehicle and the woman who was shot.

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“My thoughts are with Stevi’s family today,” said Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty. “No verdict will return her to them, but Mr. Bucholz will be held accountable for the senseless violence he committed, and a lengthy sentence will ensure no one else is harmed.”

Bucholz is set to be sentenced on Dec. 30.