20-year term for man who fatally shot victim at Minneapolis light-rail station on Christmas Eve 2020

A man has received a 20-year prison term for a fatal shooting at a Minneapolis light-rail station on Christmas Eve nearly four years ago in a dispute over a small amount of money.

Tenzin Yamgha, 30, of Anoka was sentenced in Hennepin County District Court last week after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in connection with the shooting on Dec. 24, 2020, of Malcolm J. Williams, 29, of Minneapolis at the station located at E. Lake Street and S. Hiawatha Avenue.

With credit for time in jail since his arrest, Yamgha is expected to serve just shy of 12 years in prison and the balance on supervised release.

Yamgha’s criminal history in Minnesota also includes convictions for various drug offenses, illegal weapons possession, fleeing police, domestic assault and burglary.

In a statement issued Monday, County Attorney Mary Moriarty said the family’s “wait for a resolution to this case spanned nearly four years. While no sentence will return Mr. Williams to them, [the sentence] brings accountability to Mr. Yamgha and protects the community from him in the years ahead.”

According to the charges stemming from the 2020 shooting:

Officers were dispatched to the light-rail station, where they found Williams in the lobby area of the upstairs escalator. He was shot several times and died at the scene.

Station surveillance video showed Yamgha entering the lobby accompanied by his girlfriend. Williams approached and confronted Yamgha, who said, “I will pull the trigger.”

Williams ignored a warning from Yamgha to step away and grabbed a hat from Yamgha’s head. Yamgha pulled a gun from a jacket pocket and shot Williams.

A witness identified the shooter as “Ten” and added that the confrontation was over a small amount of money.