On a Friday morning in May 2010, the lives of two Minneapolis men were tragically cut short in a case that remains a mystery. Anton Marktavies Warren, a 31-year-old African-American male, and his housemate, Romaze Stevens, aged 30, were discovered shot to death inside their home on the 3300 block of Russell Avenue N. The grim discovery was made by a third housemate who had been away overnight and returned home shortly after 9 a.m. on May 21, 2010.
The violent nature of their deaths sent a shockwave through the community and left their families grappling with a devastating loss.
In the hours leading up to the discovery, there were signs of turmoil at the residence. Minneapolis police had responded to a call at 10:30 p.m. the previous night regarding a loud party and the sound of gunshots. Officers who arrived at the scene broke up the gathering but found no one injured at that time. However, the peace was short-lived. A neighbor later reported hearing six or seven gunshots at approximately 1 a.m., a chilling premonition of the violence that had unfolded within the walls of the house.
Investigators arriving at the scene were met with a difficult situation, compounded by the presence of Warren's pit bull, which was protective of the bodies and had to be shot and killed by police to allow them to proceed. In the immediate aftermath, police had no suspects and had not determined a motive for the double homicide. Family members, reeling from the shock, suggested that robbery might have been the reason behind the killings. One of Warren's aunts revealed that his home had been broken into three times recently, with televisions being stolen. She believed the fatal encounter may have been the result of another burglary.
Despite the initial investigation and the passage of time, the case of who killed Anton Warren and Romaze Stevens has grown cold. There have been no arrests made and no suspects publicly identified in connection with the murders. The deaths of the two men, who were reportedly trying to turn their lives around by operating a used computer store, remain an unsolved chapter in Minneapolis's history of violent crime, leaving their loved ones with unanswered questions and a profound sense of injustice.
