Minneapolis gang member involved in third murder before age of 20

News broke earlier this week of Minneapolis “Highs” gang member Marquan Deshaun Tucker, 20, being charged for murdering a rival gang member in north Minneapolis in 2023. The real news was that these charges marked the third murder in which Tucker has been a defendant — all occurring before his 20^th birthday.

A review of Minnesota court records reveals the following chronology:

• On December 23, 2022, at the age of 17, Tucker went to the Mall of America with four other “Highs.” While there, they spotted three rival gang members entering the mall. The Highs allowed two of the rivals to get onto an escalator before Tucker stepped up and blocked the third from the escalator, separating him from his fellow gang members. This third rival gang member then began to flee, and one of Tucker’s fellow gang members gunned the rival gang member down, firing 8-10 shots into the man in the middle of a busy Christmas shopping scene. The murder caused a massive lockdown of the entire mall and made significant news at the time.

• Tucker was arrested later for his role in the murder and was charged with 2^nd Degree Riot. The Hennepin County Juvenile Court later dismissed the 2^nd degree charge and “Adjudicated” Tucker guilty of 3^rd degree riot in June 2023, placing him on community monitoring through May 2, 2024. He was released with 15 court-mandated conditions hanging over his head — the first was to “Remain Law Abiding.”

Let’s examine how law-abiding Tucker remained, and whether the Hennepin County Juvenile Court did anything about it.

• On July 30, 2023, Tucker, now 18, gunned down a rival gang member on a north Minneapolis street. Tucker fired 14 rounds at the victim, striking him 10 times. Tucker fled and remained unidentified until just recently.
• On October 20, 2023, Tucker “hit, kneed and pulled the hair” of a woman who he had fathered a child with. Tucker fled the scene but was formally charged in Hennepin County District Court with domestic assault a few weeks later. Tucker failed to appear for at least two court hearings in this case, resulting in two arrest warrants having to be issued and served. On April 9, 2024, the court agreed to “suspend prosecution.”
• On November 13 and November 20, 2023, Tucker was stopped and cited for driving without a valid driver’s license in Douglas County.
• Also on November 20, 2023, Tucker was cited for disorderly conduct in Ramsey County. The case was later dismissed.
• On November 29, 2023, Tucker was once again charged with domestic assault in Hennepin County. The case was later dismissed.
• On December 15, 2023, Tucker was cited in Anoka County for driving without a valid driver’s license, no insurance, and failing to stop at a stop sign. The case is still pending.
• On December 28, 2023, Tucker was cited in Hennepin County for driving without a valid driver’s license. The case is still pending.
• On March 4, 2024, Tucker was cited in Hennepin County for speeding, driving after revocation, and having no valid insurance. The case is still pending.

Not one of those eight (8) known law violations, not to mention the yet unsolved brazen murder of a rival gang member, resulted in any action taken by the Hennepin County Department of Community Corrections or the Juvenile court which had placed Tucker on “Community Monitoring” through May 2, 2024, for his involvement in the Mall of American murder.

Now off “Community Monitoring,” Tucker continued his criminal activity.

• On July 11, 2024, Tucker fled police on foot in Ramsey County. The case is still pending.
• On November 18, 2024, Tucker was charged with yet another domestic assault in Ramsey County. The case was later dismissed.

All of this criminality and the anemic response by our Minnesota courts led Tucker to involvement in his third known murder by the age of 19 — this one in Brooklyn Park.

• On December 7, 2024, at 2:00 p.m., Tucker learned through Facebook that two rival gang members were at a strip mall store in Brooklyn Park. Tucker and a fellow “Highs” gang member drove to the strip mall parking lot and waited for the rivals to exit the store. When they did, Tucker donned a “COVID” mask and approached the two before opening fire. Tucker shot and killed one of the rivals and severely injured the other before fleeing the area.
• Tucker was later arrested and charged with eight (8) counts of murder, drive-by shooting, and possession of a dangerous weapon in relation to the Brooklyn Park Murder. While in custody for this murder, police investigators located witnesses who identified Tucker as the gunman in the North Minneapolis murder from July 2023. The Hennepin County Attorney then added the additional murder charges announced earlier this week.

The trail of criminality and murder forged by Tucker prior to his 20^th birthday is yet another example of an anemic court system consumed by the narrative that incapacitation will negatively impact offenders. The truth is that incapacitation is necessary, especially with younger offenders, to send a proper message of deterrence at a time in their lives when it can help. Then, once incapacitated our correctional system can have the time needed to apply meaningful rehabilitative efforts.