Minneapolis woman charged in connection to Bloomington hotel shooting

A Minneapolis woman has been charged in connection with a recent hotel shooting death in Bloomington, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Monday.

Trimeanna Williams, 39, was charged with aiding an offender after the fact, in relation to the shooting death of 39-year-old Jennifer Swaggert at a LaQuinta Hotel in Bloomington. Williams is scheduled to make her first court appearance July 21 at 1:30 p.m.

According to the criminal complaint, on July 12 around 11:51 a.m., a housekeeper entered LaQuinta hotel room 1061 where she found the victim lying dead on the floor. An autopsy confirmed that Swaggert died from a single gunshot to the face.

Investigators learned that the room had been rented from July 9–12. Upon searching the room, police found numerous personal effects, alcoholic beverage bottles and a taser, the complaint continues.

On July 13, Williams called the hotel and said she wanted to come by and retrieve the belongings she left behind. Hotel management contacted police, who eventually spoke with Williams learning that she stayed at the hotel with her children on July 11 through the early morning on July 12, the complaint states. Williams told police that she was in the room with her “best friend” Swaggert. Also in the room were Williams’ three sons and three other teenagers who were friends of her son. Williams indicted that she and others used illegal drugs during their stay at the hotel.

One of Williams’ son, who was 12, told police that on July 11, he had seen his mother with a gun and that she had fired a shot outside in the air. He also said that Williams’ 17-year-old son was fighting with Swaggert and that he pointed the gun at her for 15-30 seconds. Williams told her son not to shoot the victim but the 12-year-old heard a shot and knew Swaggert was dead because there was blood on the wall, the complaints states.

A 16-year-old friend and witness of the shooting told police that Williams and the victim were arguing, and that Williams’ son intervened before ultimately firing a single shot and killing her, the complaint states. Williams then told everyone in the room to leave. They all headed to a nearby gas station where Williams ordered a car to take the group to south Minneapolis where witnesses say they disposed of the gun.

View the criminal complaint against Williams (PDF).