Man found guilty of attempting to murder MPD forensic scientist
Police block off the scene where a woman was critically injured in a shooting Wednesday, April 20, 2022, in Minneapolis. (KSTP/Erik Rognerud)
A man was found guilty of trying to have a Minneapolis Police Department forensic scientist killed after a shooting on April 20 left her critically injured.
Timothy Allen Amacher, 41, was found guilty on charges of premeditated attempted first-degree murder and aiding an offender. His sentencing date has not yet been set.
The shooting victim, Nicki Lenway, has a child with Amacher and was shot on her way to pick the child up.
A suspected accomplice, 24-year-old Colleen Purificacion Larson, was also arrested in connection to the shooting. Investigators believe that Larson, who is in a relationship with Amacher, fired the shots that struck the scientist.
Larson’s jury trial is set to begin on Jan. 23, 2023.
Lenway suffered gunshot wounds to the arm and neck as well as internal injuries that include a perforated lung, but she survived.
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The shooting happened just after 7:30 p.m. on April 20, near the intersection of Malcolm and University Avenues southeast outside of the Family Wise family support center.
Court documents state that Amacher was inside the Family Wise family support center with his and Lenway’s child when the shots were fired.
Larson denied having any involvement and said she was at home in St. Paul at the time of the shooting.
A criminal complaint states that investigators got a search warrant for Amacher’s home and found several discharged .380 cartridge cases. The Hennepin County Crime Lab determined that they were fired from the same gun as the .380 discharged cartridge cases at the scene of the shooting.
Amacher initially denied the Dodge Ram at the scene of the shooting was his. During the same interview, when asked what guns he owns, he did not mention a .380 but when pressed, said he used to have two .380 pistols.
Investigators also uncovered a history of harassment and domestic violence by Amacher toward Lenway over the past few years. There have been 10 reports made by Amacher to police claiming that Lenway was abusing their child with her boyfriend. The reports were deemed unfounded, and the child later told a social worker that Amacher instructed the child to lie.
The criminal complaint also states that Amacher offered $50,000 to a friend in exchange for killing Lenway. This was reportedly corroborated by multiple witnesses and phone records.