Two Minneapolis men will spend the rest of their lives in prison, with no chance of parole, for the December 2023 killing of 37-year-old Mikiyel Deshone Patton. A Hennepin County jury convicted Dandre Franklin and Lavester Breham in a case prosecutors described as premeditated and targeted, closing out a homicide investigation that authorities say leaned heavily on video, phone data and forensic evidence.
According to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, jurors found both men guilty of one count of first-degree premeditated murder and one count of second-degree intentional murder. Under state law, those convictions carry a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. The office noted that Franklin and Breham were indicted in May 2024, under case numbers 27-CR-24-1502 and 27-CR-24-1503. “This was a ruthless, targeted, and premeditated killing,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement.
Investigators Say Video, Phone Data And DNA Tied Them To The CR-V
Prosecutors told jurors they used surveillance video, cellphone location data and DNA testing to connect Franklin and Breham to the Honda CR-V where Patton was found, including footage that showed the men cleaning the vehicle hours before the shooting, according to KSTP. Minneapolis police reported that Patton was discovered in the front passenger seat of a parked CR-V on the 900 block of Newton Avenue North near Oak Park Avenue, with multiple gunshot wounds to the head and neck, according to court documents.
Investigators also said that discharged cartridge casings recovered from the vehicle produced DNA matches tied to the defendants. Local reporting later indicated that both men ultimately received life terms without parole at sentencing.
Sentencing And Legal Notes
The first-degree murder convictions carry a statutory mandatory life sentence, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said, and court dockets show sentencing was scheduled for mid-January. With those state sentences imposed, prosecutors said the verdicts remove two people they described as a continuing threat to the community.
Charging documents do not list a potential motive for Patton’s killing, according to KSTP, leaving the reason for the attack unclear to the public. Any federal matters tied to the ATF probe could move forward on a separate track, and the defense may pursue post-conviction remedies or appeal the state convictions.
