On the night of November 14, 2018, a Black/African American man named Johnnie Fenn Jr., aged 38, was fatally shot in Minneapolis. The evening began when Fenn, who was from Troy, Alabama, asked a friend to drive him to North Minneapolis for a meeting. They drove to the vicinity of Dowling and Fremont Avenues N. and met with two individuals who entered the backseat of their vehicle.
The group then parked behind a gold Cadillac and engaged in a conversation about drug dealing.
The situation took a violent turn when Fenn's friend stepped out of the car. Moments later, the friend heard gunshots from within the vehicle, followed by shouting and more gunfire. Fearing for his own safety, the friend initially ran for cover but then witnessed the two men from the backseat exit his car, get into the gold Cadillac, and speed away from the scene. The friend rushed back to his car to find Fenn suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He immediately drove Fenn to Hennepin Healthcare. Despite the swift medical attention, Johnnie Fenn Jr. succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the hospital at approximately 11:25 p.m. The cause of death was determined to be multiple gunshot wounds, one of which was to his heart.
The investigation that followed led police to identify two suspects. Based on a street name provided by Fenn's friend, investigators linked one of the suspects to the gold Cadillac used as the getaway car. This vehicle was later found abandoned in the parking lot of a Burger King in Blaine. Surveillance footage from the location showed a man, later identified as 39-year-old Jahee E. Omar of Minneapolis, dropping off the Cadillac on the morning of November 15th and leaving in another vehicle.
Police tracked down and arrested Omar. He was subsequently charged with aiding an offender after the fact. During questioning, Omar admitted to being in the car with Fenn and the other suspect but denied any knowledge of the shooting. The second suspect, who police believe was the gunman, remained at large.
