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Crime, Law and Justice
MPR News Staff
Updated:

Court cites ‘prosecutorial misconduct,’ orders new trial for man convicted of 2021 murder

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The Minnesota Court of Appeals has ordered a new trial for a man convicted of a 2021 murder in Minneapolis.

Hennepin County prosecutors charged Deandre Turner, who was age 38 at the time, with shooting Andrew McGinley in the back outside a north side social club.  

According to court documents, McGinley and around 200 others were attending a post-funeral gathering at the Elks Club. Prosecutors say McGinley got into an altercation with Shariff Willis in the parking lot. While the men fought, someone shot McGinley in the leg. Willis, a former gang leader turned activist, fled the scene. McGinley was shot again in the back while he tried to limp away. Willis later told police that he didn’t see who fired the shots at McGinley.

The case went to trial in 2023 and a jury found Turner guilty of 2nd degree murder. He was later sentenced to serve nearly 28 years in prison.

Turner appealed his conviction saying he was deprived of a fair trial.

The appellate court sided with Turner. It determined improper evidence was included during the trial and found that prosecutors engaged in several instances of misconduct, including insinuating that Turner was a gang member without offering any proof.

“The prosecutor’s insinuation that Turner may have been violent or in a gang — simply because there was not ‘any credible character evidence’ to the contrary — was a plainly erroneous, negative reference to Turner’s character beyond the witness testimony,” reads the opinion. “The prosecutor’s conduct in this regard constitutes misconduct.”

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office released the following statement:

“The Court of Appeals opinion is concerning, and we are in the process of reviewing the transcript before making a decision. Our office is committed to integrity in prosecution and continuing to build public trust in our work.”