Man gets probation in Minneapolis shootout that killed off-duty Eagan firefighter – Twin Cities

A Columbia Heights man was given two years of probation Thursday after pleading guilty to a firearms charge in connection with the fatal Minneapolis shooting of an off-duty Eagan and Eden Prairie firefighter who was caught in the crossfire between two groups seeking more than 60 people exchanged. rounds of gunfire.

Dallas Antonio Villarreal-Griffin, 27, pleaded guilty in Hennepin County District Court to a lesser charge of carrying a pistol without a permit, a gross misdemeanor, for his role in the May 5 shooting from 40-year-old Joseph Charles Johns behind the former Whiskey Junction bar in the 900 block of Cedar Avenue South.

Based on a witness account, Johns was directing traffic when the gunfight broke out, leaving him in the crossfire, the charges say. He was shot once by a bullet fired from a 9mm pistol, hitting him in the chest.

Johns had been a full-time firefighter at Eagan since 2020. Since 2015, he also served as a part-time firefighter in Eden Prairie, where he lived.

That was him remembered by his colleagues as a kind, caring, positive and charismatic man with a ‘service before self’ mentality.

Villarreal-Griffin had been charged with aiding and abetting a first-degree riot resulting in death, but prosecutors added the weapons charge as part of Thursday’s plea deal. He was subsequently sentenced to 364 days in prison, including two years.

Villarreal-Griffin, who was shot in the leg during the gunfight and hospitalized, admitted to police that he fired a 9-mm gun at a group, according to the May 17 indictment.

A prosecutor said last month at the sentencing of a second gunman — Marquise Trevone Hammonds-Ford — that police have not found the person who fired the 9-mm round that killed Johns.

People had gathered that evening at the former Whiskey Junction bar to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of a motorcycle club.

Just before 12:30 p.m., Hammonds-Ford, a member of the North Minneapolis street gang ‘Young N’ Thuggin’, pulled out a 10mm pistol that had been converted into an automatic weapon, waved it around and taunted another group of guns . with men on the other side of the street. He then fired the gun into the air toward the parking lot.

Officers arriving on scene were directed to Johns, who was pronounced dead less than an hour later at Hennepin County Medical Center.

Officers collected 63 discarded shell casings, which were found in clusters on either side of the street in front of the bar.

Forensic examination revealed that shots were fired from seven guns: six 9mm firearms and one 10mm firearm.

Evidence, including video surveillance, showed that Johns was shot when two groups exchanged gunfire from opposite sides of the street.

When the shooting stopped, Hammonds-Ford and others rushed away and dropped Villarreal-Griffin off at HCMC.

Hammonds-Ford, 29, of Monticello, was also charged with aiding and abetting riot resulting in death, but pleaded guilty last month to the lesser charge of gun possession after reaching an agreement with prosecutors. He was sentenced on October 9 up to 6½ years in prison, which was part of the terms of the agreement.