In the early hours of a summer morning in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on July 10, 2022, the life of 22-year-old White / Caucasian male Ivan James Juarez Redday was tragically cut short. Just before 2 a.m., officers on patrol in the Little Earth community heard the sound of gunfire coming from the 2500 block of Cedar Avenue South. When they arrived, they found Redday lying between two parked vehicles, suffering from gunshot wounds.
Emergency crews rushed him to Hennepin Healthcare, but he died from a gunshot wound to the chest less than half an hour later. At the scene, investigators discovered 11 discharged 9-millimeter gun casings, and nearby vehicles were marked with bullet holes and blood.
Ivan, who was born on June 19, 2000, in Minneapolis, was an employee at FedEx and had a passion for basketball and music. He was deeply loved by his family and friends, and especially enjoyed spending time with his brothers. In the wake of his death, police began an investigation into what they determined to be the city's 47th homicide of the year. Early on, investigators believed Redday was in a parking lot and was confronted by at least one person he knew just before the shooting. In August 2022, the Minneapolis Police Department asked for the public's help in identifying two individuals seen in a convenience store photo who they believed might have information about the fatal shooting.
The investigation led police to 23-year-old Jose Antonio Martinez-Gonzalez of St. Paul. Surveillance footage from the area captured Redday walking with two other people and passing Martinez-Gonzalez, who was with a group of men heading in the opposite direction. The video then showed Martinez-Gonzalez walking around the corner of a walkway, out of the camera's view, before opening fire on Redday and fleeing the scene. Authorities were able to identify Martinez-Gonzalez from surveillance footage taken the day before the shooting, where he was wearing the same clothing. His face and tattoos in that footage were compared with other photos. Martinez-Gonzalez was a convicted felon, with two prior convictions for first-degree aggravated robbery in 2017 and 2019, making it illegal for him to possess a firearm.
Five months after the shooting, in December 2022, Jose Antonio Martinez-Gonzalez was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm. In April 2023, he pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder as part of a plea deal, and the firearm charge was dismissed. The following July, Martinez-Gonzalez was sentenced to more than 25 years in prison for the murder of Ivan Redday.
