On the evening of April 19, 2020, 31-year-old Black male Kevin Logan Jr. of Minneapolis arrived at an apartment in Maple Grove, Minnesota, for a scheduled visit with his two children. The apartment, located on the 11800 block of 80th Avenue North, was the residence of his ex-girlfriend, who was celebrating her birthday. Present at the gathering was her new boyfriend, Rodney Velho. According to witnesses, the initial interaction between Logan and Velho was cordial, with the two men shaking hands upon being introduced. Logan, who had custody of the children, was there for a supervised visit.
About 45 minutes after Logan's arrival, an argument erupted between him and Velho in the apartment's bathroom. The verbal altercation escalated dramatically when Velho, then 44, pulled out a. 40 caliber semi-automatic handgun and shot Logan. The wounded Logan stumbled out of the bathroom and collapsed in the kitchen. Velho then stood over him and fired two more shots. An autopsy later confirmed that Logan died from multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen; he was unarmed at the time of the shooting.
As his ex-girlfriend called the police, Velho fled the apartment. However, his escape was short-lived. Surveillance footage captured him leaving the building at 7:10 p.m., and police arrested him in the parking lot shortly thereafter. The shooting was reported just after 7 p.m., and responding officers found Logan deceased on the kitchen floor.
Rodney Velho was charged with second-degree intentional murder. In April 2021, Velho, then 45, pleaded guilty to the charge. As part of a plea agreement, a threats of violence case against him was dropped. Velho admitted to arguing with Logan and shooting him. At his hearing, he stated that during the argument, both men claimed to have guns, and he shot Logan because he thought Logan might retrieve his weapon, although he never actually saw one. He also admitted to purposefully firing the two additional shots as Logan lay on the floor. Velho was expected to receive a 20-year prison sentence.
