Minneapolis man given life sentence for killing bystander he thought was a gang member

A Minneapolis man convicted of shooting and killing an innocent bystander in a gang-related killing received a life sentence in federal court on Tuesday.

Gregory Hamilton, 29, was previously convicted following a three-week trial of Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Conspiracy and premeditated murder for his involvement in the Highs and the Aug. 8, 2021, murder of Darryl Wells, Jr.

As previously reported, Hamilton and Dantrell Deon Johnson are believed to have performed multiple retaliatory shootings after Prince Martin, a prominent YNT/Taliban gang member, was murdered outside Winner Gas Station in north Minneapolis on Aug. 7, 2021.

Police said there were four suspected retaliatory shootings the next day, including one outside Skyline market in the city’s Harrison neighborhood.

A criminal complaint states several known gang members, including Hamilton and Johnson, were seen in the Winner Gas Station parking lot mourning Martin’s death. Just after 5:30 p.m., Johnson and Hamilton left in a minivan that was later seen doing a drive-by shooting outside a store about a mile away.

Then, just after 6 p.m., they and another known gang member were seen in a Dodge Charger.

At 7:48 p.m., the Charger arrived at Skyline market and parked behind Wells’ vehicle. Dantrell Johnson and Gregory Hamilton then went inside the store, the complaint states, and fired at Wells as he ran out of the store.

Wells was then clipped by the driver’s door of a Porsche that another gang member had been driving. He continued to run away while still being shot at and then collapsed near an alley.

The complaint states that the Porsche, stolen from Minnetonka, was then driven up to Wells. Two juveniles got out and fired at Wells, then got back in the Porsche and fled. One of the juveniles, identified as Christopher Shawn-Michael Johnson, was certified as an adult and later pleaded guilty to second-degree intentional murder in Wells’ death.

Court documents state Wells is not known to have had any gang affiliations.
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