A Hennepin County grand jury has indicted a couple in the slaying of 18-year-old Mohamed Abdi during a confrontation outside a south Minneapolis gas station last fall.
Prosecutors say Rodney Jackson and Derionna Leake got into a heated argument with Abdi, with both sides hurling items, at the Speedway gas station at 2445 Bloomington Av., before Jackson pulled out a handgun and fired a single shot at the teenager, killing him. Last Thursday, a grand jury indicted Jackson, 27, on first-degree premeditated murder and second-degree intentional murder, while Leake, 21, was indicted on charges of aiding and abetting first-degree murder, aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree riot, according to prosecutors.
Both had previously been charged in the slaying, but a premeditated murder case can't be prosecuted unless a grand jury has issued a first-degree murder indictment.
The confrontation between the couple and Abdi broke out around midday on Nov. 6 in the gas station's parking lot — an area that residents and activists have long complained is a magnet for prostitution and drug dealing. Prosecutors say that Jackson and Leake went into the Speedway and when they emerged, they found their truck trapped between two vehicles, including Abdi's car. Prosecutors say the three began yelling at each other and, at one point, Leake threw a jar of Vaseline at the teen.
The couple was eventually able to leave, after the SUV parked behind them moved, but after pulling out of the station, Jackson parked across the street. Witness accounts and surveillance video show Abdi throwing rocks in the direction of Jackson's parked SUV; moments later, prosecutors say, Jackson held a gun out of the window and fired a single shot, which struck Abdi in the head.
He was arrested later that day at a movie theater in Roseville, and a .40 caliber semi-auto handgun was taken from him, prosecutors said.
Jackson has no permanent address, while Leake lives in Robbinsdale, according to prosecutors.
Libor Jany • 612-673-4064 Twitter: @StribJany
