A late-night dice game on Hennepin Avenue that erupted in gunfire last summer has now ended in a guilty plea. Tyrone De Shun Childs Jr., 21, admitted in court Wednesday to second-degree murder and second-degree assault in the downtown Minneapolis shooting that killed 35-year-old Jermaine Jabaar Typray Barker and wounded another man.
The plea resolves a case tied to an Aug. 27 incident in which investigators say Childs walked up to a group shooting dice on Hennepin Avenue and opened fire, killing Barker at the scene and injuring a 22-year-old man. Prosecutors are asking for an aggravated 40-year prison sentence, and Childs is scheduled to learn his fate on April 21. As part of the deal, one count of first-degree aggravated robbery is expected to be dismissed.
Childs entered the guilty pleas Wednesday as part of a negotiated agreement, according to KSTP. Prosecutors plan to seek the 40-year term on the grounds that Childs opened fire amid a crowd, a factor they say heightened the risk to bystanders, as described in a December court filing. Childs remains in the Hennepin County Jail while he awaits sentencing in April.
Night-of Shooting And The Victim
The violence broke out in the early hours of Aug. 27 near Eighth Street North and Hennepin Avenue South, when witnesses say a man approached the dice game and began shooting, according to the Star Tribune. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office later ruled Barker’s death a homicide caused by multiple gunshot wounds at that intersection…