‘Random execution-style murder’ and other top public safety news

The following public safety issues made headlines this past week. I offer this summary and insight:

Random execution-style murder in Lowertown St. Paul. On Wednesday 9/25/24, a local artist, Carrie Shobe Kwok, 66, was shot and killed execution-style as she painted a mural near her artist coop apartment in Lowertown, St. Paul. Police tracked the killer, Seantrell Tyreese Murdock, 29, to his apartment in Belle Plaine and ended up shooting and killing Murdock Thursday morning when he came out of his apartment armed with a handgun. 

St. Paul police have said they have no motive for the Kwok’s murder, but that surveillance video showed Murdock and Kwok exchanged a brief look at one another before Murdock walked back up to Kwok and shot her from behind before fleeing.

St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry called Kwok’s murder one of the “most brazen acts” he has seen in 30 years as an officer. 

Minnesota court records show that Murdock was likely legally prohibited from possessing firearms given a conviction in Washington County for a 2013 1st-degree burglary of an occupied dwelling. In addition, Murdoch was the subject of a 2023 civil commitment proceeding brought by the U of M Medical Center Fairview, acting as the petitioner. Murdoch received a stayed commitment as mentally ill and chemically dependent, and that stayed commitment was eventually dismissed in August 2023.

The murder illustrates the weakness in the argument that laws alone will prevent dangerous individuals from possessing and using firearms. Far too often these laws only serve to impact legal gun ownership. More effective measures in preventing gun violence include swift, sure, and consequential responses that serve to create strong deterrence towards violence.

Efforts to improve public safety in Downtown Minneapolis. Minneapolis police and community safety resources are being coordinated in downtown in response to two weekends of multiple murders and shooting involving teens congregating at night. Uniformed police, mounted patrol, surveillance, and civilian violence interrupters are being increased to provide for a proactive deterrent to the ongoing problem. Unfortunately, some of the violence in recent weeks has happened right in front of uniformed officers, illustrating just how brazen and unafraid many of these kids are of being held accountable. 

In a related story, Mayor Frey has taken some unfair criticism for talking about some of the unconventional tactics being used by downtown businesses to dissuade kids from congregating and becoming violent. One of those tactics involves businesses using bubble machines out front of their doors in an attempt to create an atmosphere less likely to lead to congregating or to violence. To be clear, the tactic is not a city endeavor or something Mayor Frey or the police department came up with. He deserves no criticism for being open to whatever might work to prevent violence for these businesses. Now, does it work is another question — time will tell. The tactic is in line with other business that have attempted to prevent problems by playing classical or country music in front of their storefronts. It’s a harmless effort, and conservatives would be wise to keep their powder dry for real issues. 

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty has filed over 600 motions for private law enforcement discipline data. The Star Tribune reported on this unusual practice this week. A decades-old set of Supreme Court decisions known as Brady and Giglio mandate that prosecutors need to disclose information about the credibility of potential witnesses (the police in this case) to the defense. Moriarty has taken things a step further and it appears her office is now filing hundreds of motions to judges for court orders directing law enforcement agencies to turn over disciplinary records in pending cases. Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association Executive Director Jeff Potts explained the situation well when he stated, “I would say that it’s probably indicative of the relationship that she is creating with the police chiefs. Most other county attorneys are doing this in a way that is probably equally effective. However, their style is more cooperative and collaborative. This county attorney has chosen to use court orders to obtain information.”

Ice released information that hundreds of thousands of convicted criminal immigrants, including 13,000 murders, are living in the country and not in ICE custody. The complete story is that this number includes immigrants who have come into the country over the past four decades and includes a percentage (exact percentage unknown) that are in state and local custody. The data was part of a release of information to a congressional committee, and it lends itself to misinterpretation and misuse. By no means am I suggesting our immigration and border control is working well, but it needs to be made clear that ICE has not knowingly released hundreds of thousands of wanted and convicted criminals onto our streets in the last couple of years. The issue led me to do some research into the issue of criminals and illegal immigration — I wrote about my findings here.

Park Tavern criminal vehicular homicide defendant to be released to treatment facility pending trial. It was reported this week that Steven Frane Bailey, 57, who has been charged with criminal vehicular homicide for the Labor Day weekend crash that killed two and injured several others, will be released to a treatment facility pending trial. Court records indicate that on 10/14/24 Bailey will secure a $500,000 bail with conditions that include he be transported to a treatment facility and then remain on home monitoring should he complete treatment before trial. The case illustrates the limitations courts have in using bail as a method to ensure public safety. Minnesota’s state constitution requires all defendants be afforded a cash bail option, and bail is theoretically only used to ensure the defendant’s reappearance in court.

Minnesota Senator Ron Latz (DFL) announced intention to introduce legislation in 2025 mandating law enforcement trace firearms used in crimes. According to the announcement, only 60% of Minnesota law enforcement agencies are using the ATF’s e-trace system to trace the origin of guns seized as part of criminal investigations. The e-trace system allows law enforcement to identify the original purchaser of a gun. As a detective I used the e-trace system routinely and know it to be a helpful tool for law enforcement to connect dots in straw purchasing of firearms and other illegal trafficking and crimes of violence. I will investigate more about the proposed legislation as it moves forward, but from my experience this will not negatively impact legal gun owners or create a “data base” of all gun owners, only those who have purchased a gun(s) later used in a crime.