On the morning of April 8, 2015, in North Minneapolis, 47-year-old Black / African American male Odell Frazier was fatally shot. The incident, which also resulted in the death of 56-year-old Eddie Pelmore, took place just after 10 a.m. outside Frazier's home on the 4500 block of Penn Avenue North. Frazier, a father of nine who had relocated his family from Chicago, was reportedly getting his young daughter ready for school when he went outside to meet with Pelmore in a parked car.
It was then that two individuals approached the vehicle, and at least one of them opened fire, striking both men. Both Frazier and Pelmore were pronounced dead at the scene from gunshot wounds to the head.
Minneapolis police responded quickly to the sound of gunfire. An officer arriving at the scene saw two men running away and gave chase. The officer witnessed one of the fleeing men, later identified as 21-year-old Brian Deshawn Morse of Chicago, toss a handgun over a fence before being apprehended. The discarded weapon was recovered and ballistics testing confirmed it was the firearm used in the double homicide. Morse initially denied his involvement, claiming another person was the shooter, but admitted to being present and that blood found on his pants belonged to the victims.
Brian Deshawn Morse was arrested and charged with two counts of second-degree murder. Investigators suggested the motive was connected to a planned marijuana sale from Pelmore to Morse. A second man, a 30-year-old from Minneapolis, turned himself in to the police several days after the shooting and was arrested in connection with the case. However, reports indicate that this second individual, identified as Leland Ethridge, had not been formally charged.
In June 2015, Morse pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder, despite having been indicted on first-degree murder charges just days earlier. By pleading guilty, he avoided a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. When entering his plea, Morse admitted to killing both Frazier and Pelmore but offered no clear reason for his actions. In July 2015, a judge sentenced Brian Deshawn Morse to 55 years in prison for the murders. Family members remembered Odell Frazier, known to them as "Pete," as a man who was striving to turn his life around.
