MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota man shouted “Y’all won’t stop fighting” at his supporters after a judge decided Thursday not to free him from custody as he appeals his conviction in a gun and drug case that drew attention because it followed the redemption of his life. punishment in a high-profile murder case.
John Minchillo/AP
Myon Burrell was incarcerated at age 16 for the 2002 death of 11-year-old Tyesha Edwards, a Minneapolis girl who was hit by a stray bullet. He maintained his innocence. The Associated Press and APM Reports in 2020 exposed new evidence and serious flaws in that investigation, leading to the creation of an independent legal panel to review the case.
Ultimately, Burrell was released after 18 years behind bars. But then police in the Minneapolis suburb of Robbinsdale found drugs and a gun in his SUV during a traffic stop last year. That was a problem because even though a state pardon board commuted Burrell’s sentence, his pardon request was denied. That meant his first-degree murder conviction remained on his record, making it still illegal for him to own a gun.
As a result, he was sentenced to five years in prison on gun and drug charges. But his defense is arguing the legality of the traffic stop.
Burrell, now 38, said Thursday there was no excuse for his behavior but he was learning to live again and trying to come to terms with what happened to him in prison. His supporters spoke of his powerful work with young people to keep them from going to jail, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.
Senior Assistant County Attorney Cheri Townsend said the state simply opposed the motion to release Burrell because of public safety concerns.
After the traffic stop, Burrell was charged in May with an additional drug charge following an investigation in which police alleged they found a small amount of methamphetamine in his car and $60,000 in a suitcase in his home. A few months after that, Burrell was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, and police found marijuana in his car.
Both cases are still pending and Hennepin County District Judge Mark Kappelhoff said they raise serious doubts about Burrell’s ability to prove there was no risk that he would commit a serious crime.
“I see the community, I hear the community,” said Kappelhoff, who worked for years in the Civil Rights Division of the Assistant U.S. Attorney General. “But my job is to apply the law based on what I see, based on the facts before me.”
