Charges announced against 17-year-old in homicide investigation that led to Amir Locke's death

Protester demanding justice for Amir Locke
(Image credit: Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

Prosecutors in Ramsey County, Minnesota, filed homicide charges against 17-year-old Mekhi Speed, the cousin of 22-year-old Amir Locke, who was killed by Minneapolis police in a no-knock raid last week, the Star Tribune reported Tuesday.

Speed was charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the Jan. 10 shooting of 38-year-old Otis Elder. One witness said the St. Paul shooting may have been the result of a drug deal gone bad. Police arrested Speed in Winona, Minnesota, on Monday. The charges filed against him include the prosecutors' motion to have Speed tried as an adult.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

According to a local CBS affiliate, "body-camera footage showed the 22-year-old [Locke] was sleeping on a couch when the [SWAT] team entered the living room. As he awoke, Locke grabbed his handgun nearby and was soon shot three times by [Officer Mark] Hanneman."

Officers can be heard yelling, "Police! Search warrant!" as they rush into the apartment.

Protesters in Minneapolis marched to City Hall on Monday, calling on Mayor Jacob Frey to fire Hanneman and the city's interim police chief, Amelia Huffman.

Following Locke's death, Frey said no-knock warrants would be suspended in the city.

Explore More
Grayson Quay

Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-GazetteModern AgeThe American ConservativeThe Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.