A puppy thief turned murderer learned his fate from a Twin Cities judge for both crimes.
Jahon Ronnell Lynch, 20, of Robbinsdale was sentenced Thursday by Hennepin County District Judge Carolina Lamas to a 15⅔-year term in connection with his pleading guilty to second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder and first-degree robbery for the crimes committed within a few months in 2023.
With credit for time in jail since his arrest, Lynch is expected to serve just shy of 9½ years in prison and the balance on supervised release.
Investigators believe Lynch was targeting members of a rival Minneapolis street gang when he shot 20-year-old Antonio Vernon Harper of Minneapolis.
According to the charges in each case:
On Nov. 6, 2023, Minneapolis police responded to a shooting in the 3300 block of Dupont Avenue N. and found Harper face down with fatal gunshot wounds. Surveillance video showed a man shooting in the nearby alley while two other shooters fired from the sidewalk.
A witness said she saw the three men surrounding a home looking toward Harper and two others who crossed the street. At that point, Lynch and his two accomplices ran toward a suspect vehicle, drove around the corner, parked and began shooting.
As Harper and the two men with him tried to flee into a backyard, Harper was shot. The two other men continued running. The suspect vehicle fled north in the alley. A 911 caller described the vehicle and the shooter’s clothing.
