Shakopee woman sentenced to 15 years in March 2022 homicide

Morgan Reddekopp KSTP

Courtesy of Hennepin County Jail

A Shakopee woman was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison in connection with a fatal shooting of Tanasha Austin in March of 2022 in Minneapolis.

According to court records, Erica Shameka Roberts has credit for 297 days already served. She had initially been charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of possessing a firearm as a felon.

Court records show that Roberts entered a guilty plea to one of the murder charges on July 20, and the other two charges were dismissed as part of a plea deal.

As previously reported, Austin called 911 on the morning of March 18, 2022. Dispatchers heard Austin being shot during the 911 call.

A witness to the shooting, which occurred near Lincoln Avenue and Colfax Avenue South, recorded several videos and shared them with officers. According to a criminal complaint, the video shows Austin in the back of an SUV before a gunshot is heard and a flash is seen. Austin is then seen falling out of the SUV.

Austin was later pronounced deceased at the hospital.

According to court documents, two witnesses from the SUV told officers that Roberts had a gun in her hand at the time of the shooting. They said that a group was “socializing” when Roberts and Austin started arguing.

The witness said Roberts was initially in the back seat with Austin but then lunged into the front seat with the gun. The witness tried to wrestle the gun away from Roberts but was unsuccessful, court documents state.

Roberts was ineligible to have a firearm due to previous convictions.

As previously reported, Roberts was arrested in Texas due to a CrimeStoppers tip.