De'Von Burt, aged 18, was tragically killed on August 25, 2013, in Minneapolis, MN. The incident occurred in a south Minneapolis alley where Burt, along with three others, was in a car that was sprayed with gunfire. Burt was behind the wheel, and Keondray Q. Wilson, aged 20, was in the seat behind him. The group had just returned from dining out and shopping in Uptown when two men approached their vehicle and fired 33 shots at them.
Witnesses reported seeing two men running through the
alley at the time of the shooting. One of the suspects was later identified as Dijon C. Sanders, who was 24 years old at the time. Sanders was known by the alias 'Fat Man Scoop.' He was charged with second-degree intentional murder for the deaths of De'Von Burt and Keondray Wilson, as well as for shooting and wounding two women who were also in the car.
Despite the charges, Sanders was acquitted by a Hennepin County jury after a two-week trial. The jury deliberated for a week before reaching their verdict. The prosecution faced challenges due to credibility issues with a witness's identification of Sanders as the shooter and insufficient evidence to conclusively prove Sanders's involvement in the crime.
