A Minneapolis man already on federal supervised release for trafficking fentanyl and cocaine has been charged with second-degree assault and illegal firearm possession after investigators say a license plate camera and a trail of shell casings connected him to a shooting that left a man wounded and three parked cars riddled with bullets on Oliver Avenue North.
Minneapolis police responded to a shooting report in the 1200 block of Oliver Avenue North on July 20 at approximately 9:45 p.m., according to FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul. The victim told investigators he was sitting in front of his house with another man when he was shot, per the criminal complaint, and he suffered a gunshot wound to the left arm. Investigators recovered about 35 spent bullet casings at the scene along with fired bullets and bullet fragments, and gunfire struck three parked cars.
Minneapolis SWAT arrested 28-year-old Ananias Cortez Williams on August 19 and served a search warrant at his home the same day, the station’s report states. Williams now faces charges of second-degree assault and possession of a firearm as a prohibited person, filed in Hennepin County court.
How the Camera Network Pointed to a Suspect
According to the criminal complaint, surveillance footage showed a dark Ford Explorer traveling south along Penn Avenue North and Plymouth roughly ten minutes before the shooting. The vehicle had distinctive features — silver roof rails, chrome trim on the lower passenger doors, and unique five-spoke rims — that investigators used to track it. An automatic license plate reader camera showed the registered owner of that Explorer, and Minneapolis police told the outlet the vehicle had been stopped by officers about a month before the shooting, with Williams identified as the driver and sole occupant during that earlier stop, when he was wearing a ski mask…