A Blaine man scheduled to walk out of a Minnesota prison in early November is instead facing two counts of second-degree murder, after investigators say surveillance video, phone records and a recovered gun connected him to a Minneapolis shooting that happened more than six years ago. Melvonte Lee Peterson, 35, has been serving time for illegal firearm possession, but Hennepin County issued a warrant for his arrest tied to a killing from Aug. 31, 2020, just as his sentence was running out.
According to KSTP, Peterson was set to be released from prison in early November when the warrant surfaced in connection with a man's shooting death at the intersection of 30th Avenue North and Penn Avenue North in Minneapolis. Minneapolis police officers were sent to that intersection after a ShotSpotter detector activated, and they found a man who had been shot in the head and left thigh at around 4:23 p.m. that day. The man was taken to the hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
Two Cars, a Gas Station Stop, and a Trail of Evidence
Witnesses reported seeing a black vehicle and a silver vehicle speed away from the scene after the shooting, the station reports. Investigators say city cameras helped trace those two cars back to a nearby stop, which a separate report from MN CRIME identifies as the Full Stop Gas & Food Station. Surveillance footage reportedly showed the two vehicles stopping there minutes before the shooting, with Peterson seen exiting the silver vehicle before getting back in.
Court documents say Peterson was the only person in the silver vehicle that day. The driver of the black vehicle told investigators he followed Peterson's silver car after leaving the store and said he saw the victim walking near the street. According to that account, documented in court filings, Peterson then stopped his vehicle and began shooting at the victim.
Gun Recovered Weeks Later, Ballistics Point Back to Peterson
Police did not recover the firearm used in the shooting until Sept. 19, 2020, nearly three weeks after the killing, when it turned up in the possession of another man. Court documents say that man is believed to have gotten the gun from Peterson. Ballistics testing reportedly identified the weapon as the one used to kill the victim, and phone data reportedly placed Peterson in the area of both the gas station and the shooting location at the relevant times, per the same reporting.
The case moved from an unsolved 2020 shooting to a formal murder complaint on Oct. 30, when prosecutors charged Peterson in Hennepin County District Court with two counts of second-degree murder, covering both intentional murder and murder committed during a drive-by shooting, the outlet notes. A Minnesota Department of Corrections record shows Peterson was incarcerated as of Nov. 21, 2024, at MCF Rush City.
A Prior Case Involving a Toddler's Death
This is not the first time Peterson has faced firearm-related charges tied to a shooting involving a vehicle. In an earlier case, he was charged with discharge of a firearm in a drive-by shooting and possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon, according to KARE 11. That case stemmed from a shooting in which bullets struck Peterson's minivan, killing his 2-year-old son, Le'Vonte King Jason Jones, and wounding the boy's 15-month-old sister, the station reported.
Under Minnesota law, unintentional second-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, according to the Minnesota Revisor of Statutes. Separately, state statute bars certain convicted individuals from possessing firearms or ammunition altogether, per Minnesota's revisor's office. The charges filed Oct. 30 mark the first time Peterson has faced accountability for the 2020 Minneapolis killing, which had gone unresolved since the day ShotSpotter alerted officers to the intersection six years ago.
