Minneapolis man charged with killing three, shooting another before standoff with St. Paul police

A Minneapolis man is accused of killing three people in a homeless encampment then shooting another man at a sober living facility the next day before he was shot and arrested by St. Paul police after a standoff later that night.

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office charged Earl Bennett, 40, with three counts of second-degree murder Monday afternoon. Bennett is hospitalized and remains in police custody.

“These were horrifying acts of violence,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement announcing the charges. “Mr. Bennett targeted vulnerable people and took the lives of three members of our community.”

The charges came not long after the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office announced there was a third homicide victim from the Oct. 27 shooting at the homeless encampment in the 4400 block of Snelling Avenue near the railroad tracks and Hiawatha Avenue.

Samantha Jo Moss, 35, of St. Louis Park was shot multiple times in that attack, part of a relentless string of violence at homeless encampments in Minneapolis.

At the scene, officers found two men who were fatally shot. They were later identified by the Medical Examiner’s Office as Christopher Martell Washington, 38, of Fridley and Louis Mitchell Lemons Jr., 32, of Brooklyn Center.

According to court documents:

Officers arrived at the encampment and found three victims. Moss survived for several days at the hospital before succumbing to her injuries. Witnesses at the scene said the three had been inside a tent smoking methamphetamine.

Witnesses and surveillance video showed Bennett arriving at the scene wearing a balaclava. Witnesses said he asked for “Jigga,” which was Washington’s nickname. Washington let Bennett inside the tent where he stayed for 10-15 minutes. There was a string of gunshots, a pause and more shots before Bennett left the tent, “got onto his electric bike and went south along the railroad tracks.”

Police found nine shell casings at the scene. Forensics on the casings showed they all came from the same gun.

Police obtained surveillance video from a nearby gas station that showed a man wearing similar clothes to the suspect, riding an electronic bike with his mask pulled down, exposing his face. When Bennett was arrested by St. Paul police, he was found carrying a 9-millimeter Sig Sauer. The gun was a match to the shell casings found at the triple homicide.

The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office has charged Bennett with illegal weapon possession and second-degree assault stemming from his clash with St. Paul police. The charges say Bennett “told police to shoot him” and that the handgun he was holding was not loaded.

Bennett is also charged in Hennepin County District Court with attempted first-degree murder in connection with the shooting at a sober house in the 3500 block of Columbus Avenue S. in Minneapolis. That shooting occurred about 2½ hours before he was shot by St. Paul police. A manager at the sober house was shown a picture of the suspect from the homeless encampment shootings and identified Bennett as the man in the photo. He also said Bennett was known to have an electric bike.

The Snelling Avenue shooting was the second at a South Side homeless encampment that weekend. One man died and two were critically wounded on Oct. 26 at an encampment near E. 21st Street and 15th Avenue S. The man who died was identified as Deven Leonard Caston, 31, no known address. No arrests have been announced in that case.

The city has been coping with several shootings in and around homeless encampments this year. Mayor Jacob Frey attended a news conference on the day of the Snelling Avenue shooting and said the city needs to continue to provide options for people seeking shelter. But, he said, encampments are not an alternative answer.

“Yet again we have more people that are dead,” the mayor said. “We need to be honest and realistic about what is happening right now. We need to call a spade a spade. This is not about a lack of shelter. This is about fentanyl.”

Bennett has a lengthy criminal history in Minnesota, including felony convictions for fleeing police, assaulting police, escaping custody and drug possession. He is due to appear in court Wednesday.

Greta Kaul contributed to this story.