On July 11, two men were charged with the robbery-inspired death of a man outside his south Minneapolis home.
According to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s office, Francisco Benitez Hernandez, 38, died at the scene of the shooting on July 8 from multiple gunshot wounds.
Two Minneapolis men were arrested in connection with the shooting, which also resulted in Hernandez’s brother suffering a gunshot wound to the arm outside the Columbus Avenue South home.
The men who have been charged are 22-year-old Ryan Grant and 24-year-old Diamond L.J. Griffin.
Upon his arrest, Grant immediately pointed the finger at Griffin as the shooter and even stated that Griffin nearly shot him, according to the criminal report. Grant stated that Griffin was laughing after the shooting, but Grant did say he did nothing to try and stop the violence or offer any aid to the victims, according to the criminal complaint.
Also injured in the incident was a brother-in-law who was assaulted at the time.
In the criminal complaint, it says that it was shortly after 11:00 p.m. when Griffin and Grant entered the back yard of the residence and demanded money and the cell phones from the victims.
The wounded brother told officers that one of the robbers started shooting after the men said they had no cash. Hernandez was the first shooting victim and then a short almost hit the brother-in-law. The surviving brother suffered a shot in the arm.
As officers investigated the scene, they found an identification card in a parking lot belong to a woman. The woman was located and she said she was near the scene in her car when Griffin and Grant were attempting to rob the home. Her young child was also in the car at the time.
The woman said that after she heard the shots, Grant and Griffin ran to her vehicle and told her to start driving. It was in her car where police located the two men and arrested them.
In addition to Grant saying that Griffin was the shooter, he said that Griffin also used the gun to strike one of the victims in the head. Griffin would not talk to police.
When looking at Griffin’s criminal history, it includes theft convictions, aggravated robbery and fleeing, domestic abuse, and loitering.
Both are housed in the Hennepin County Jail and their bail has been set at $2 million.
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