Man faces life sentence after guilty plea in 2020 drive-by shooting

A Brooklyn Park man faces life in prison after he pleaded guilty to murdering a woman in Minneapolis while her 2-year-old child was in the car.

Court records show 29-year-old Devon Manley entered a guilty plea Friday for one count of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder in connection with the fatal drive-by shooting of Shanette Marable on July 11, 2020.

Police reviewed surveillance footage, which shows a gray Jeep Compass drive alongside an Infiniti SUV with Marable, her boyfriend and her child inside at the intersection of north 26th and Emerson avenues, a criminal complaint states. The boyfriend told police they were out celebrating Marable’s 31st birthday. Shots were fired at the Infiniti from through the passenger window of the Jeep.

After the boyfriend flagged down officers responding to the scene, police found Marable in the front passenger seat with a gunshot wound to her head, according to the complaint. She was taken to the hospital but did not survive. The child was in the backseat and was covered in blood and glass and suffered some cuts but no major injuries.

Marable’s boyfriend said he knew the shooter and identified him by his nickname, "Paco," which was listed as Manley’s alias in Department of Corrections records. The boyfriend said he and Manley had fought about a year before the shooting over money that Manley owed him.

A search warrant of Manley’s Facebook revealed Manley had searched for the boyfriend’s full name on Facebook about 45 minutes before the murder. Furthermore, cell phone data placed Manley’s phone at the crime scene.

Police arrested Manley on Jan. 8, 2021. Manley told police he knew the boyfriend and eventually admitted to shooting at him.

Prosecutors initially charged Manley with two counts of second-degree murder, one count of attempted second-degree murder and two counts of illegally possessing ammunition or a firearm. A grand jury later brought first-degree murder charges against him.

Manley’s sentencing is set for Jan. 24. Per the terms of his plea deal, he will be sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years. He will also receive a concurrent 213-month prison sentence for attempted first-degree murder, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.