On a late Saturday night in August 2017, the life of 18-year-old Haeveon Martese Chavez Wesley, a Black / African American male from Minneapolis, Minnesota, was tragically cut short. The incident unfolded outside a SuperAmerica gas station in Crystal, Minnesota, on August 26th. Haeveon, a recent graduate of Patrick Henry High School and a talented football player with plans to attend the University of Minnesota Crookston, was with his close friend, 17-year-old Cortez Ananias Williams.
The two friends were reportedly drinking alcohol in the back of a car and handling firearms. Witnesses stated that Haeveon and Cortez were exchanging guns when a single shot was fired, striking Haeveon in the chest. Cortez later told police that the shooting was an accident, claiming the gun "went off easily" and that they had both mishandled it while intoxicated. According to Cortez's account, he was holding his. 22-caliber handgun by the handle with the barrel pointed towards Haeveon's shoulder when Haeveon grabbed the gun, and it discharged.
Following the shooting, their friends drove Haeveon to North Memorial Hospital, but he was pronounced dead at approximately 11:30 p.m. During the drive to the hospital, Cortez admitted to stopping the car to hide the guns because he was on juvenile probation for a previous weapons offense and was not supposed to be in possession of firearms. This probation stemmed from a prior weapons crime, and he had just been released from electronic home monitoring the morning of the fatal incident.
Cortez Ananias Williams turned himself in to the police the following Monday and was subsequently charged with second-degree manslaughter. Investigators noted inconsistencies in his statements regarding his actions immediately after the shooting. The Hennepin County attorney's office also indicated that further investigation contradicted some of Cortez's claims about concealing the weapons. The tragic event left a community mourning the loss of a promising young athlete described as a quiet, kind-hearted, and protective individual who was a role model to many.
