Charges dismissed in 2016 drive-by shooting that killed 2-year-old

Charges have been dismissed in a fatal drive-by shooting that happened in 2016. A 2-year-old died as a result of the incident.

A man was charged in 2019 in the shooting death of LeVonte Jones. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman on Tuesday announced the dismissal of the charges.

Court records indicated that key witnesses would not cooperate with the state, resulting in a dismissal of the case.

"Without these key witnesses, the State does not have any evidence to present at trial to identify Defendant as the person who committed the crime," the filing submitted on Tuesday states.

The boy died while riding in a minivan at Penn and Lowry avenues in Minneapolis on July 8, 2016. Minneapolis Police said LeVonte was caught in the crossfire when his mother’s boyfriend and the man originally charged exchanged gunfire.

Another child, LeVonte’s 15-month-old sister, was hurt in the shooting but survived. The mother’s boyfriend was originally charged in LeVonte’s death, but those charges were dropped.