In the midafternoon of May 14, 2022, violence erupted at the intersection of West Broadway and North Bryant Avenue in Minneapolis, claiming the life of 21-year-old Kayvon Jemell Williams, a Black male. Williams suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the torso and died at the scene. Another man, 51-year-old Mcconda D. Robinson, was also killed in the incident. Williams, a former standout football lineman at Park Center High School, was remembered fondly by his family.
Tragically, this was not the first time his family had been struck by such a loss; Williams's first cousin, Kevin Brewer, was the victim of an unsolved homicide at the age of 11 back in the year 2000.
Witnesses reported seeing two men in hooded sweatshirts and masks, accompanied by a woman, get out of a car. One of the men, the one in the blue hooded sweatshirt, opened fire, shooting Williams and Robinson before all three fled in the vehicle. Investigators recovered nine spent. 357-caliber shell casings from the scene, all fired from the same gun. The ShotSpotter system in the area registered the sound of 12 rounds from what was believed to be a fully automatic handgun.
The investigation into the double homicide led to the arrests of 21-year-old Deijuan McCaleb-Robinson and 28-year-old Lerita Rayford. McCaleb-Robinson was charged with two counts of second-degree murder, while Rayford was charged with aiding an offender, accused of being the getaway driver in a rented Ford Fusion. An informant had identified Rayford and provided the Facebook identities of the two male suspects.
However, the case took a significant turn when new evidence emerged. After McCaleb-Robinson had spent over three months in jail, prosecutors dropped all charges against him. Further investigation, including the review of surveillance video, revealed that he was not the shooter. While the charges against the alleged getaway driver, Lerita Rayford, remained active, the investigation into who fatally shot Kayvon Jemell Williams continues.
