On the evening of April 19, 2025, Davione Daunte Charles Collins, a 27-year-old Black male from Maple Grove, Minnesota, was shot and killed in his car outside a Minneapolis apartment building. Authorities believe the shooting was a targeted attack that occurred during a planned drug deal involving marijuana.
That night, Collins drove to the Peregrine Apartment building at 2035 West River Road North, arriving between 10:13 p.m. and 10:16 p.m.
Surveillance video showed two individuals approach his car. According to a criminal complaint, the figures were seen jumping back before extending their arms toward the vehicle as if pointing firearms. Collins never got out of his car. The vehicle's brake lights went off, and it rolled down the parking lot entrance ramp, crashing into the building’s garage door.
When police arrived around 10:17 p.m., they found Collins deceased in the driver's seat. The medical examiner later determined he had died instantly from a gunshot wound to the neck that severed his vertebrae. Investigators found five shell casings from two different firearms in the parking lot where the two figures had stood. Evidence collected from Collins’ vehicle, including an iPhone with photographs and social media activity, helped authorities identify the people they believed were responsible.
The investigation led to the arrests of two suspects on May 2, 2025. Jayce Nasir Cuff, a 20-year-old from Minneapolis, was taken into custody in St. Paul, and a 17-year-old was apprehended in Brooklyn Park. Police also identified a 16-year-old who allegedly orchestrated the meeting, directing Collins to the back of the apartment building and propping a door open for the shooters to flee inside. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara condemned the killing, stating, "This targeted attack showed a complete disregard for the sanctity of human life."
Both Cuff and the 17-year-old were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder. The juvenile, later identified as Darnail Arnez LaBrec, was certified to stand trial as an adult. In October 2025, both men pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting unintentional second-degree murder. As part of a plea agreement, Cuff accepted a sentence of 195 months in prison, and LaBrec, then 18, accepted a sentence of 13 years and 9 months. The legal status of the 16-year-old suspect remains unclear as of this resolution.
