New charges reveal killings near Minneapolis homeless encampment weren’t random

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced Monday that her office is bringing additional murder charges against Joshua Anthony Jones after he allegedly killed two men and shot two others near a homeless encampment in Minneapolis two weeks ago.

Jones, 36, of Bemidji, now stands charged with two counts of second-degree murder, three counts of attempted second-degree murder and three counts of illegal firearms possession from the roving attacks that occurred over nearly 15 hours on Sept. 18.

While the shootings were in proximity to a homeless encampment in the Phillips neighborhood of south Minneapolis, Moriarty said it does not appear that the victims were living at the encampment or that Jones was trying to kill people living at the encampment.

“He did actually appear to have known the people that he targeted,” Moriarty said at a news conference. She added that a specific motive for the killings remains under investigation.

The two men killed were Roland Scott Littleowl, 20, and Robert Milton Brown, 39, of Minneapolis.

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office provided a timeline of the allegations against Jones:

At 4:39 a.m., Jones walked into an alley on the 2500 block of 17th Avenue S. and shot Littleowl and another man in the head and shot at a third person but missed. Littleowl died at the scene, the other shooting victim survived. At 4:21 p.m. Jones is seen on surveillance video walking up to Brown on the 2500 block of Bloomington Avenue S. and shooting him in the head. Brown also died at the scene. At 7:19 p.m., Jones approached a fifth victim near the intersection of 24th Street and 18th Avenue S. and shot at him multiple times, hitting him in the shoulder.

A short time later, Jones was arrested.

Moriarty said the wide timeframe of the crimes and how that was allowed to happen is still under investigation, and Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Joshua Larson “continues to work with MPD to develop all of those details.”

Messages left with Jones’ attorney were not immediately returned.

In the wake of these shootings and a spike in crime connected to the homeless encampments, Mayor Jacob Frey vowed to accelerate the destruction of the encampments and called out the fentanyl crisis as a major factor.

The Minneapolis City Council also approved measures related to housing and homelessness: a new set of reporting requirements intended to add transparency to camp removals, including where individuals land after being dispersed; a $1.5 million rehabilitation grant to help a downtown shelter make needed repairs; and an extension of the pre-eviction notification period for renters from 14 days to 30 days.

Moriarty was asked whether she would bring criminal charges against people living at the encampments if the Minneapolis Police Department or Hennepin County Sherriff issued citations.

“First of all, being unhoused is not a crime,” Moriarty said. “I certainly support Hennepin County’s approach which is housing first. I think they have a very effective and proven method and humanitarian approach to working with people who are unhoused.”

Jones has a lengthy criminal history in Minnesota, including convictions for assault and fleeing police and court documents allege he is a member of the Native Mob, an active street gang in Minnesota.

Moriarty said Monday that Jones was already facing an additional count of second-degree assault for a shooting near a south Minneapolis light-rail station in March. That case was charged in July and a warrant was issued for Jones’ arrest; it was still active when Jones was arrested for allegedly murdering Littleowl and Brown.

Jones’ next court date is Oct. 24. He is currently being held in Hennepin County jail on $1.5 million bail.

Staff writer Paul Walsh contributed to this story.