Man found guilty of murder in “unprovoked” shooting of 19-year-old gets 40 years in prison

Krystal Frasier KSTP

Courtesy of Brooklyn Park Police

A man arrested and convicted for the death of a 19-year-old man at a Brooklyn Park party last year will be spending the next few decades in prison.

Court documents show 32-year-old Daniel Martez Walker was sentenced Monday to 40 years in prison for a second-degree murder charge. He was also sentenced to five years in prison for an illegal firearm possession charge due to having prior robbery and burglary convictions and was on parole at the time of the shooting. However, the two prison sentences are being served simultaneously.

Walker was allowed 508 days of credit for time already spent behind bars.

As previously reported, the shooting happened at a party in the area of Thomas and Russell avenues north in Brookyn Park in early June of 2023. The party was happening inside a garage, where the victim was sitting at a card table with several others, according to the criminal complaint.

Multiple witnesses spoke to police and said Walker stood up from the table, then pulled out a black and purple handgun and fired without provocation, with one witness saying the victim was “just sitting there, not even talking” moments before the shooting.

Two of the witnesses also confirmed that Walker was the only person they saw at the party with a gun.

Investigators say they found one spent 9 mm shell casing at the scene.

Multiple witnesses identified Walker as the gunman in photogenic lineups, court documents say.

Police found and arrested Walker responding to a call of people using drugs at a home in the 8100 block of Zane Avenue North the night after the shooting. Police say they then recognized Walked and arrested him after he tried to jump off a third-story balcony.

A witness at that apartment told police that Walker was showing off online news articles about the shooting and the victim’s death and even bragged about shooting him in the chest. The witness confirmed Walker “got nervous” and tried running away when police arrived at the apartment.

Police say they also found a handwritten note on Walker that read on the first line, “Tell JoJo that I sold the gun that had the body on it.” Court documents state that as officers looked at the note, Walker snatched it from their grasp, stuffed it into his mouth and swallowed it.

The complaint states that in a Mirandized statement, Walker provided a false alibi for the murder before changing his story when confronted with evidence. He then admitted to shooting and killing the man in the garage.

Walker then claimed to have a bounty on his life and that the victim pulled out a gun and tried to shoot him, prompting Walker to act in self-defense.

Walker also admitted to fleeing the scene and selling the handgun.