Reaping chaos from an inconsequential criminal justice system
A series of violent incidents played out in Minneapolis in recent days that represent just how poorly our public safety and justice systems are serving to deter crime. As a result, criminals have become emboldened like never before, and innocent people are paying a heavy price.
Friday’s carjacking
The mayhem began Friday afternoon in Northeast Minneapolis. At 4:30 p.m., in broad daylight on Marshall Street, a 62-year-old woman from outstate Minnesota drove to Minneapolis to visit her daughter. She parked adjacent to her daughter’s apartment building and began walking toward the apartment when five boys and one girl, aged 11-15, pulled up (no doubt driving a stolen car) got out, tackled the woman, stole her keys, and fled in her car.
Some of the parents of the juvenile suspects apparently provided helpful information to the Minneapolis police (MPD), and police used that information to locate the suspects driving the carjacked vehicle in North Minneapolis. The juvenile suspects refused to stop for police and led them on a chase before bailing from the car and hiding in a garage where they were arrested.
The MPD released a statement saying each of the six juveniles had existing criminal cases pending and that one of the 15-year-olds was wanted for attempted murder, unrelated to the violent carjacking. Chief Brian O’Hara commented that “…the gap that allows juveniles to cycle in and out of the system remains…The current system is failing, putting our youth, their victims, and even our officers at risk.”
Apparently, the programming announced by Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty to identify and intercept such juveniles before they progressed to carjacking failed these kids. That, or their previous encounters with the justice system, left them thoroughly unconvinced there are any consequences to crime.
Tuesday morning violence spree
Between 5:00 a.m. and 6:50 a.m., three male suspects committed at least six violent crimes throughout South Minneapolis, victimizing several innocent people.
The first incident occurred in an alley in the 4100 block of 25th Ave So. A ring camera captured footage of the three pulling up to a garage, kicking the door in, and burglarizing it. As they returned to their car, a neighbor across the alley was looking out the window. Two of the men calmly shot at the man, striking him at least once in the jaw, before they drove away.
The three then went on to carjack a man, rob and shoot another man, and break into several other garages, while firing gunshots during one of those burglaries.
The white sedan the suspects used during this spree was found abandoned later in the day. No arrests have been made.
Wednesday evening fleeing rampage
At about 5:00 p.m. multiple suspects in a full-sized dark pickup with stolen license plates fled from Robbinsdale police. The pursuit ended up on I-94 in heavy rush-hour traffic. Traffic cameras recorded the driver of the pickup ram multiple cars in several locations as it fled from the responding squad cars.
Due to the heavy traffic and the suspect driver ramming cars, the suspects were able to elude police as they exited near Cedar Riverside. The truck was abandoned near 6th and Cedar Ave S. and witnesses reported multiple suspects running in several directions. No arrests were made.
The takeaway
These dramatic and violent incidents, happening in locations and times of the day typically associated with a sense of safety and security, demonstrate just how emboldened the criminal element among us has become. Each of these suspects acted in a manner that was completely disconnected from the possibility of being arrested. Each has no doubt experienced Minnesota’s criminal justice system in the 2020s and has walked away with the understanding that there are no consequences to crime.
Minnesota’s public policymakers have led us here in recent years. Their obsession with reducing incarceration and increasing community-based monitoring, and their penchant for curtailing pro-active law enforcement has created an inconsequential criminal justice system that has failed to deter crime and has left us all more vulnerable.
It’s a bad place to find ourselves, but here we are in 2025.