Two men are at large after being charged with the second-degree murder of Mikiyel Patton, 37, in north Minneapolis last December. Lavester Breham, 34, from Illinois, and Dandre Franklin, 32, of Crystal, have eluded capture with law enforcement still in pursuit. On the somber evening of December 19th, Minneapolis police responded to a grim scene where Patton was found fatally wounded in a car parked on Newton Avenue North, confirmed CBS News Minnesota.
Investigators quickly piece together evidence linking the suspects to the homicide. Surveillance video revealed a chilling sequence of events, catching flashes of gunfire from within the Honda CR-V Patton was found in. Following the initial gunfire, a man ran to the car, opening the door to fire once more before both suspects fled. This vehicle and the suspects were already subjects of a separate ATF probe, which had ironically placed a camera near a house where Breham and Franklin often stayed, as per details acquired by KSTP.
What unfolded was a narrative captured on video, with Breham and Franklin seen Gently cleaning the CR-V shortly before the murder, particularly focusing on door handles and other areas they might have touched, all the while fitted with gloves. The aftermath led them to Prior Lake, where Franklin's girlfriend resides, and then returning a BMW, a loaner car, back to the dealership, revealed CBS News Minnesota.
The technological threads that bind these men to the crime were spun from cell phone location data placing them at the scene and DNA evidence matching Franklin to the discharged cartridges found in the vehicle Patton was discovered in. Franklin's DNA was described as a "major male DNA profile in a DNA mixture from two individuals," with Breham also being a possible contributor, KSTP reported. If the accused are found and convicted, they both could face a future confined behind bars with sentences of up to 40 years stretching out before them.
