A Minneapolis man lured a woman out of a Brooklyn Park hair salon, fatally shot her and then fled with her purse, according to murder charges filed Friday.
James Alvin Hill, 31, was charged Friday in Hennepin County District Court with second-degree murder with intent in connection with the Wednesday shooting, while Deshawn Slaughter, 31, of Minneapolis, was charged with aiding an offender to avoid arrest, according to the Hennepin County Attorney's Office. Both are expected to make their first court appearance Monday.
The woman, 35, who has not been identified, was shot in the abdomen in the parking lot of the Gold Key Mall.
According to the criminal complaint: A Brooklyn Park squad car was flagged down by several people at 4:20 p.m. at Brookdale Mall and Zane Avenue. The officer was directed to the parking lot, where he found the victim bleeding from a gunshot wound. She died a short time later at North Memorial Health Hospital.
Witnesses told police the woman walked into a salon in the mall and was approached by Hill, who asked her if she remembered him. It appeared after a moment that she did, and the two hugged. Hill allegedly asked the woman to accompany him outside so he could show her something. Witnesses inside the salon then heard a pop and saw the woman fall to the ground.
Hill fled in an SUV allegedly driven by Slaughter, who is charged with one count of aiding an offender.
Surveillance video showed Hill and the woman walking to a gray SUV, where Hill opened the front passenger door and the woman struggled with him. Hill pointed his arm at the woman and she stumbled backward, charges said. He then grabbed her purse, jumped in the SUV and ran away. The video showed the license plate of the SUV, which was registered to Slaughter.
Hill was arrested and allegedly told police that he had watched the woman for about 15 minutes before following her into the salon. He allegedly confessed to shooting the woman and taking her purse, and also identified the getaway driver, the complaint said. Police also found a purse, 9-millimeter handgun and a credit card in the woman's name.
The charges did not specify how Hill knew the woman or why he targeted her.
Hill is jailed in lieu of $1 million bail, while Slaughter is jailed in lieu of $750,000 bail.
Chao Xiong • 612-673-4391
