Murder charge in Richfield shooting death

A 19-year-old Minneapolis man has been charged with murdering a 19-year old Brooklyn Center man, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Tuesday.

Silas Timothy McDougal has been charged with one count of aiding and abetting murder in the second degree in the shooting death of Jordan Deangelo Washington.

According to the criminal complaint, on May 17, police were called about a suspicious car in the parking lot of a Richfield apartment complex at 1318 E. 78th St. When officers arrived, they found Washington inside his car, bleeding from a gunshot wound to the head. He died at the hospital.

When officers searched the vehicle, they found blood, a discharged cartridge casing and items consistent with the sale of marijuana. Witnesses in the neighborhood reported hearing the gunshot, seeing two suspects at the passenger side of the car and seeing four men near the dumpsters at the nearby Baymont Inn about 30 minutes earlier, the complaint states.

Police obtained surveillance video from the hotel, which shows four men. Shortly after the 911 call, the video shows two men jumping over the fence located between the hotel and the northwest side of the apartment complex. Moments later, two other men jumped the fence.

Officers searched the area of the shooting and found three backpacks under a stairwell in one of the apartment buildings. In one of the backpacks, there was a credit card application in McDougal’s name, according to the complaint.

A palm print was recovered from outside the front passenger door window and it was a match for McDougal. The investigation led police to one of the men who jumped the fence. He said he met up with McDougal and two other men and they eventually headed to the apartment complex. The witness reported that McDougal said Washington had shorted him some marijuana and that he wanted to “beat his ass,” the complaint states.

At the complex, the witness said he saw McDougal in the passenger seat of Washington’s car and Washington was in the driver’s seat. The witness said he heard a gunshot, saw McDougal get out of the car and the witness started running, with the other three men behind him, according to the complaint.

McDougal is in custody on another charge and a first court appearance for this case has not yet been scheduled.

McDougal Criminal Complaint (PDF)