Did a Security Camera Capture Michael's Death?
There were several security cameras pointed in the direction of the shooting. What happened to this evidence?
More here.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
There were several security cameras pointed in the direction of the shooting. What happened to this evidence?
More here.
Friday, September 15, 2006
The Case of Michael Zebuhr's Murder (intro by Morgan Reynolds)
Donte Jacobs and Billy Rae Deshawn Johnson have both been accused in the first degree murder of Michael Zebuhr (MZ), an engineering graduate at Clemson University, on or about March 18, 2006 in Minneapolis MN. The victim, MZ, was a student member of Scholars for 9/11 Truth (see www.st911.org) and that led several professors, including me, to wonder if MZ was killed--not because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time during an armed robbery--but because of his participation in the effort to expose 9/11 as an inside job.
Before dismissing this possibility as just another "conspiracy theory," consider a few reasons to treat it seriously:
1) 9/11 is the most important political event of the 20th century, and if insiders did it, they and their opponents are playing for the highest stakes possible, and the perpetrators would be entirely capable of murder or murder for hire,
2) MZ had only recently been introduced to 9/11 but he "took" off with it, contributing on both the research and education fronts within a couple of weeks (in memoriam: http://www.scholarsfor911truth.org/ and http://www.scholarsfor911truth.org/ArticlAluminumGlows_1Mar06.html),
3) Killing MZ would have a "chilling" effect on scholars, researchers and students skeptical of the government's 9/11 story, and st911 had already made startling progress in publicizing 9/11 as an inside job,
4) News accounts of MZ's murder make it sound suspiciously like an execution rather than a robbery gone bad since the accused trigger man simply headed straight for MZ, who allegedly was not resisting, and put a bullet in his head (asked, "didn't he find this strange?", detective sergeant Peter Jackson of MPLS PD gave a "boiler plate" answer, in effect saying, "The circumstances in every murder are different, no two are alike").
5) The website of the so-called French Connection, http://www.iamthewitness.com/DarylBradfordSmith_Michael.html has recklessly accused Professor Jim Fetzer, founder of st911.org, and Clemson engineering Professor Judy Wood, of complicity in MZ's murder. Since there is no evidence to back this charge up, it raises the question of whether it was done to divert attention away from someone else. But distract to protect whom? Another professor? Someone else?
6) What was the motive behind the killing? This is crucial because there was no apparent gain to murdering MZ except the thrill of killing someone. That was quite a risk for killers presumably leaving three eyewitnesses from MZ's party behind and quite alive. So either it was a stupid testosterone-driven (including drug-alcohol-driven) murder or it was 9/11-driven. It was politically purposeful or it was a stupidly tragic murder. Oddly, the assistant prosecutor was quoted in the press as saying that she did not care about motive.
7) The media reported there were one or two video tapes of the crime and police were examining it/them in their efforts to clear the crime with arrests. Now Sgt. Jackson says, "There is no video tape." That strikes me as awfully convenient.
8) Regarding the murder weapon and running ballistics tests, Sgt. Jackson would not claim the police had a murder weapon, merely that they were continuing the investigation.
Below is a more complete recounting of the media coverage of MZ's murder and the many anomalies in the investigation, as prepared by Professor Stan Burchfield at Clemson.
--------------
The Mysterious Case of Michael Zebuhr
5/23/06
Summary
Michael Zebuhr, a student member of ST911, was shot in the forehead twice outside a Minneapolis restaurant during the evening of 3/18/06. He died the next day. The murder was caught on surveillance videotape, and three eyewitnesses were present at the scene. Yet no detailed description of the suspects has been given, nor has the video been released or its contents described.
The police have arrested one person in the case, the man they claim did the shooting. The police have not said why they are so confident that they have the right person, although they have repeatedly stated that they are confident. The murder weapon has not been found. No motive has been determined, and authorities have even gone so far as to state that they are not interested in the motive. They have arrested three other people, but no connection with the case has been established. A fifth person is sought but has not been arrested. Overall, five people have been arrested or charged, and five people are claimed to have been involved in the case. But the former five are not the same as the latter five.
From day one, the police have treated the case as a crime in the past to be solved rather than a present threat to the public. There has been no sense of urgency in solving the crime.
Details about the crime have been scanty, and they have been released only when needed. For example, the license plate of the alleged getaway vehicle was only released to the public (asking for their help to find it) on the day that the vehicle was found. The only description of the suspects attributed to Michael's mother, who was with him at the time, is that the taller of the two men fired the shot. Even this description only came out several weeks later, and it seems meaningless given that their heights have not been revealed and that the second suspect has not been arrested.
The reports in the media are full of contradictions and rabbit trails.
Some reasons to believe that this was a hit job, and that there is a police cover-up:
1
Unusual nature of the crime. This was a cold-blooded murder in an area generally considered to be safe. Police and residents say that it is unprecedented. Does not fit typical model. Moreover, the killing looks like an execution, with two bullets to the forehead. The murderer did not mind leaving three eyewitnesses.
2
Unusual behavior of the police. Lack of urgency from day one. Police have congratulated themselves, even while they have not succeeded at getting the criminals. Leads took them out of state?
3
Video has not been released. In other crimes, the video was shown to the media. The video is crucial for catching the criminals, and it is crucial for alerting the public to the presence of dangerous men on the streets. This gives strong evidence for a cover-up. Police are not revealing other information either, such as a description of the assailants, the license plate, etc. In addition, no statements from the three eyewitnesses have been released to the public, which is quite unusual.
4
Groundless assertions. Police repeatedly have said that they are "extremely confident" that they have arrested the killer, but they have not given any reason for us to believe this. They say others are not related to the crime, but again no reason. They say they believe five are involved, but they will not tell us how they know this.
5
Lack of evidence. Alleged killer has no criminal record, no motive, no weapon, etc. Why should we believe that he is the killer?
6
The official story does not add up. Five arrested, but not the five who are supposed to be involved. Two of the criminals came forward as witnesses, but the news media did not report this development. The criminals fled the scene on foot, then called later to be picked up.
7
Rabbit trails abound. Car runs red light, guns thrown out of vehicle, people are arrested as possibly involved in the murder. Then police say that the news reports were inaccurate and that there is no relation. The girlfriend of the alleged murderer just happens to be arrested at the same time he is arrested, even though she was not involved in the murder (according to police). First it is Somalis, then police deny every saying Somalis. Car blows up in neighborhood.
8
Contradictions galore. Did Zebuhr die on Sunday, Monday, or Saturday? Did car blow up on Tuesday or Wednesday? Are Jacobs and Johnson cousins? Is the elder Johnson the father of Jacobs, of Johnson, or of neither? Woman is 18 or 22?
Research Notes
Summary of timeline:
3/18/06: Zebuhr is shot around 9:55pm, dies on 3/19/06. (Some reports incorrectly say he died on 3/20.) The murder is captured on videotape, and three eyewitnesses were there, but the video is never released, nor is any description given of the culprits.
Week after shooting (3/19/06 - 3/25/06): Billy Ray D. Johnson, 17-yo-boy, is arrested on a misdemeanor traffic violation and released. No mention of connection to murder.
3/21/06: Low-speed chase in vehicle matching description. Three occupants: Aiesha Williams (driver), Omari Thomas, and James Walker. Handguns thrown from the vehicle, two men released on 3/23/06. Aiesha is presumably released shortly thereafter, since we never heard from her again.
4/03/06: Johnson is arrested again at the house of his girlfriend, Lasonya Denise Miles, an 18-year-old girl. (Initial reports say she is 22 years old, and that Johnson is a child. Other reports say they were arrested while driving.) Miles is also arrested. Many reports incorrectly say that Miles is arrested in connection with the murder, but she is actually being charged with something unrelated (and unspecified). The police are confident that the 17-year-old is the shooter, but they do not say why.
4/05/06: White Ford Taurus was purposely set on fire the same day that the police release the license plate number, and a 22-year-old woman and 33-year-old man are arrested. Police think that the latter is related to a fifth person (17-year-old boy, Donte L. Jacobs) for whom police are still searching, although family say they are not related.
4/06/06: Johnson and Jacobs charged. (Some accounts led us to believe that Jacobs had been arrested.)
Inconsistencies:
Just happen to arrest the shooter on a traffic violation the week before?
Vehicle chase just happens to be in a car of the same description as the get-away vehicle?
Police ask public for help, then say that they don't need public's help because they are making such great progress.
No explanation for how the five suspects being arrested match with the two men who did the killing. No explanation of motive.
Vehicle is burned by two other people? Is this the same vehicle as the low-speed chase?
Almost no story mentions Zebuhr's involvement in 911ST. Almost no story mentions two bullets. No mention of videotapes. No mention of ballistic tests.
Description of suspects is vague, and no clothing description given, even though eyewitnesses described clothes.
Sloppy reporting, or intentional confusion:
18-year-old woman is initially said to be 22.
Jacobs is charged and some reports lead the reader to believe that he has been arrested (4/06), then they say he has not been arrested (4/07). Some accounts later (4/28) still say he was arrested, which is not true.
Car is two-door or four-door? Car in video is 4-door.
Car set on fire Tuesday or Wednesday?
She gave him the purse or he took it from her shoulder?
Mike died on Lord's Day (Sunday) or Monday, or Saturday?
Mike's birthdate?
Johnson and Jacobs are cousins? Why is this not mentioned for so long?
Are Johnson and Johnson related or not? The elder Johnson is Jacob's dad? Why is this mentioned so late in the game?
Leads took investigators out of state? To what state?
Were the younger Johnson and his girlfriend arrested at her home, or on the street while driving?
Elder Johnson is arrested for arson, but whose property is the vehicle? Arson requires the vehicle to be owned by someone else, or insurance fraud.
The notes below are in chronological order, taken primarily from the following news sources:
www.kstp.com
www.wcco.com
www.kare11.com
www.startribune.com
www.twincities.com
Every related article from these news sources, between 3/18/06 and 5/23/06, is catalogued below.
2/24/06: Zebuhr first mentions to Judy Wood, one of his professors at Clemson, that he has been studying the 9/11 event and is now convinced of the conspiracy. Zebuhr emails Wood.
3/10/06: First and only meeting of Clemson 911ST student group, led and organized by Zebuhr.
3/20/06: Police did not release details of suspects. Red Star newspaper criticized for putting story on the inside of the "B" section, with no description of suspects. Downtown has become more dangerous in the last five years. Nine robberies in the week preceding. Earwitness heard two gunshots. http://rambix.blogspot.com/2006/03/more-updates-on-uptown-minneapolis.html [cached]
3/20/06: Zebuhr was walking with his mother, sister and her friend after they finished dinner in a restaurant at Hennepin Avenue and Lake Street. The suspects allegedly fired two shots, hitting the man in the head. Police said the suspects immediately fled the scene, jumped into a white car and headed south on Girard Avenue. It happened about five minutes to 10. Resident Justin Ellis says he was mugged early in the morning last summer. Police gave vague descriptions of the suspects, only saying they are men between 17 years old and 22 years old and were both wearing dark clothing. [The news video shows the street and interviews residents who live there... indicating they were out on the street, NOT in a parking garage.] http://wcco.com/local/local_story_078110804.html [cached]
3/21/06: Police said on Saturday night (3/18/06), Zebuhr was walking to a parked car with family members, when robbers approached them and demanded his mother's purse. (street map -- restaurant at Hennepin/Lake, shooting at 31st/Girard.) (picture of Calhoun Square parking ramp near 21st and Girard.) (another picture of Calhoun Square.) She gave it to the gunmen without any resistance. One gunman shot Zebuhr twice in the head. Police said the shooting appeared to be cold-blooded and unprovoked. Police are hoping for a break in the case. Several security cameras were pointed in the direction where the shooting happened and police are now reviewing those tapes. The area is filled with around-the-clock visitors and residents. Minneapolis Police Deputy Chief Sharon Lubinski (picture of Lubinski): "She said that although the shooting is a tragedy, it was very unusual and similar crimes rarely happen in that area." Lubinski: "This was a very unusual incident... It really is very unusual for that area" According to statistics, burglary in the 5th precinct is up 14 percent and robbery is up 43 percent compared to one year ago. Letter to uptown newspaper two months ago mentioned increasing robberies and burglaries, warning of potential to causing bodily harm to victims. News announcer on video: "Police are not releasing very many details." Christine Devens, CARAG (Calhoun Area Resident Action Group) Neighborhood Association: "I think overall we think of this area as a very safe area." Announcer: "For an area filled round the clock with visitors and residents, Saturday's violence is shattering." Announcer: "She [Zebuhr's mother] cooperated completely, so for now police are saying that this shooting was unprovoked and cold blooded." Announcer: "But now Zebuhr is in very grave condition at HCMC with gunshot wounds to the head." [Notice: "wounds" is plural, indicating multiple shots.] Announcer: "The manager of another business told us she's considering paying for her employees to park at a parking ramp. At a ramp, at least there are at least a few extra set of eyes keeping watch. (picture of security camera in parking garage.) [Some of this information is from the two accompanying news videos.] http://wcco.com/local/local_story_079230508.html [cached]
3/21/06: Lt. Lee Edwards of the Minneapolis Police Department said, "Within a half hour of the incident, we had already had six homicide investigators or six officers with homicide experience already working this thing." http://wcco.com/local/local_story_080101653.html [cached]
3/21/06: But then, apparently without provocation, one of the men turned his gun on Strong's son and shot him in the head. They had been dining out in the Calhoun Square shopping complex. South Minneapolis fifth precinct which has seen 100 armed robberies since the first of the year. Daniel Pineiro recounts being mugged. http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=121215 [cached]
3/21/06: Zebuhr was a remarkable person with a bright future. Julia Conley, family friend: "I've been to Uptown myself, shopped there alone, and I've personally never felt unsafe. It's not a place in this world where you feel you have to worry." http://www.startribune.com/467/story/321164.html [cached]
3/21/06: Robberies in Uptown have spiked several times in the past year, leading to increased police presence and consequent lull in robberies. [Interesting: This seems to indicate that the area was actually safer than people have been saying; the robbery rate had gone down.] The robbery was unusual. "Overall, the Uptown area is very safe," said Deputy Chief Sharon Lubinski. Uptown businesses hire off-duty officers to patrol and complement regular police patrols. http://www.startribune.com/467/story/319934.html [cached]
3/21/06: Zebuhr's sister, Laura, is a graduate instructor at the University of Minnesota. [partially cached]
3/22/06: Judy Wood receives email from Clemson University indicating that Mike Zebuhr has been removed from her class roll
3/22/06: Police said two men in their 20s approached the group, stole Zebuhr's mother's purse and as they left, fired two shots into Zebuhr's forehead. Investigators said they have 15 officers working the case full-time. http://wcco.com/local/local_story_080225959.html [cached]
3/22/06: As for the shooting, police still do not have a detailed description of the suspects. Not enough streetlights in the neighborhood. http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=121230 [cached]
3/22/06: Police say since Saturday night, about 15 investigators have been working on this case, but they released little new information during a Tuesday afternoon (3/21/06) press conference. Police say they are working around the clock on this case. "There have been developments, but I can't go into that either," said Lt. Lee Edwards. Information is tight, but the police chief did want to assure Zebuhr's family that they will close this case. "No matter how long it takes, we will not stop until we bring these perpetrators to justice," Minneapolis Police Chief William McManus said. The Somali Justice Advocacy Center is offering a $2,000 reward in this case. But police say that doesn't necessarily mean the suspects are Somali. Police say the only description of the suspects is extremely vague: two black men, between the ages of 17 and 22, who were wearing dark clothes. Police aren't giving a detailed clothing description but do think they fled south from 31st and Girard in a four-door white car that was parked in an alley. Anyone with information should give police a call at 612-692-8477. (No clothing description, despite the fact that eyewitnesses described clothing? Only vague description, despite the fact that it was caught on videotape?) http://www.kare11.com/news/ts_article.aspx?storyid=121295 [cached]
3/22/06: After slow-speed chase, police arrested two 27-yo-men and one 22-yo-woman. Three handguns were thrown from the car and recovered by police. Police stress no connection is being made, but one news report citing a police source says that they are suspects in the Zebuhr shooting. Blank mug shot of no one shown. http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=121331 [cached]
3/22/06: "At this point members of our criminal investigation division are saying there's no connection, however we will be exploring that possibility," cautioned Police spokesman Ron Reier. Police will be doing ballistics tests to see whether the handguns match the Zebuhr bullets. Zebuhr's death happened just ten blocks from where Tuesday night's (3/21/06) police chase began. Police have 36 hours to charge the three people, probably on illegal weapons charges. Police are also reviewing surveillance video from an Uptown bank's drive-up ATM where a customer was approached by two Somali men Saturday night a couple of hours prior to the murder. http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=121354 [cached]
3/22/06: Died on Sunday. http://www.startribune.com/467/story/324747.html [cached]
3/22/06: Up to six officers with homicide experience were present within 30 minutes and up to 15 officers have worked the case, he said. Police have released a vague description of two male suspects in dark clothing. Authorities said the suspects got into a white, four-door car that headed south in the alley between Girard and Hennepin Avenues. More people may have been waiting in the getaway car, police have said. [Why just a vague description released? Also, this account contradicts the later court document, in which one of them flees on foot.] Zebuhr died Sunday. http://www.startribune.com/467/story/322376.html [cached]
3/22/06: Crime is in the area (knife fights and muggings), and few streetlights on street. But this is something we have not seen: A totally innocent person. http://www.startribune.com/467/story/322510.html [cached]
3/22/06: Zebuhr died late Monday (3/20/06) night. [partially cached]
3/23/06, 9:00 am: Clemson University sends email to all faculty, staff, students about Zebuhr's death
3/23/06: Huy Nguyen was Zebuhr's waiter Saturday night at Chang Mai Tai, where Zebuhr, his mother, sister and a friend at dinner before the fatal shooting. She gave up her purse but for reasons no one yet knows. Zebuhr was shot in the head. http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=121377 [cached]
3/23/06: Low-speed / high-speed chase of vehicle that matched the description. Aiesha Williams was driver. Police say the other occupants of the vehicle, Omari Thomas and James Walker, threw loaded handguns out of the vehicle during the chase. Thomas and Walker were released from the Hennepin County jail at noon Thursday (3/23/06) but may still face weapons charges. Williams is still in custody and may be charged with fleeing police. City Councilmember Ralph Remington said the investigation into the murder of Michael Zebuhr is progressing: "There are a couple of promising leads that are more than promising, very substantial, and that should lead to the capture of the killers." http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/S15053.html?cat=1 [cached]
3/24/06: 911 callers give some tips about the murder. Another said the caller saw two men in their early 20s, one wearing a Raiders jacket and the other wearing a red baseball cap. The two men then got into a white two-door car. http://wcco.com/local/local_story_082213938.html [cached]
3/24/06: Minneapolis Police continue to narrow their search for the people who killed Zebuhr. http://wcco.com/local/local_story_083174617.html [cached]
3/24/06: A 23-year-old woman was charged with a felony Thursday (3/23/06) for allegedly fleeing Minneapolis police in her car Tuesday (3/21/06) night. Aiesha Camille Williams of Hopkins was arrested after police said they saw a car run a red light at Pillsbury Avenue South and West 31st Street. During a pursuit, officers said they saw three guns thrown from the vehicle. http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/news/local/14172794.htm [cached]
3/24/06; Letter to the editor: Police advice is dumb, because that's exactly what Zebuhr did. Uptown has many unstable panhandlers. http://www.startribune.com/563/story/327117.html [cached]
3/24/06: Contrary to TV report, no connection between Williams and Zebuhr murder. Three guns were thrown from vehicle. Charged on Thursday (3/23/06), chase was on Tuesday (3/21/06). [partially cached]
3/25/06: Vigil held tonight in neighborhood where killed 31st Street and Girard Avenue, Minneapolis. Police have not made any arrests in the case. http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=121510 [cached]
3/25/06: Letter to the editor calls the killing an execution. http://www.startribune.com/563/story/329241.html [cached]
As of 3/26/06, authorities haven't arrested any suspects: http://www.wboy.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=9698 [cached]
3/26/06: Vigil held the night before. An increased police presence had already made neighborhood safer. No suspects have been arrested. http://wcco.com/local/local_story_085090130.html [cached]
Judy Wood's pictures of security cameras http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=125x77684 [cached]. See email of 4/2/06
3/29/06: Dolan said police do have promising leads in the Uptown murder. He added that if their investigation was not active, he would appeal to the public for more information: "Believe me, if we were swinging in the air, we'd come to you, to be a positive [sic.]." (Since when do the police not want the people to help find a killer at large?) http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/s15192.html [cached]
3/29/06: Shooting took place 9:55 pm on Saturday, 3/18/06; died died at 11:30 p.m. Sunday, 3/19/06, in the Hennepin County Medical Center. [Note that this date is wrong in later articles.] Zebuhr was from Buckhannon, W. Va., and a 2005 graduate of Davis & Elkins College with a bachelor of science degree in mathematics and chemistry. http://theintermountain.com/news/articles.asp?articleID=2588 [cached]
3/29/06, James H. Fetzer says:
This afternoon I had the chance to speak with the homicide detective who is investigating the death of Michael Zebuhr, a student member of Scholars for 9/11 Truth. I explained that many members of the society were concerned that this killing might have had something to do with his association with Scholars. The detective informed me that substantial progress has been made and implied that they have suspects in custody. He told me it was a rather long story, which will soon be in the public domain, but that nothing about this death suggested any connection to his membership in S9/11T. I expressed my appreciation for the work the department is doing in solving the crime and explained that I was confident that the members of the society would be relieved to know that there seems to be no connection between his membership and his death. It is my opinion that what I was told is accurate and complete relative to my inquiry and that we are going to know much more very soon. http://www.scholarsfor911truth.org/EmailNews29Mar2006.html [cached]
L.A. police paid $1.1M to Notorious B.I.G.'s family for withholding documents. The rapper's family claims that a corrupt police officer arranged to have him killed. (So hit jobs do occur.) "L.A. to pay B.I.G.'s family $1.1M," 3/30/06, http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/30/notorious.big.ap/index.html [cached]
As of 3/31/06, no mention on crime alert bulletin: http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/police/crimealert/ [cached]
3/31/06: Police have said that members of Zebuhr's group did everything they were supposed to and that it's unusual for robbers to shoot their victims. There have been no arrests in the case, and police are tight-lipped about developments, although a City Council member who lives a block from the homicide scene has said authorities have "substantial" leads. Fetzer, who is also a philosophy professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth, said he recently spoke with a Minneapolis homicide detective who said the killing has nothing to do with Zebuhr's affiliation with the group. [They are tight-lipped about everything but 9/11 involvement. Substantial leads? This is what they said the week before.] Mike died the next day. [Correct, but inconsistent with other reports.] http://www.startribune.com/467/story/342036.html [cached]
4/04/06: Memorial service at Clemson. Mike's Dad and Mom and girlfriend are present. Interesting event.
4/04/06: Another description of arrest, with license plate of car. Family says the woman is actually 18 years old and dating the boy. The boy was arrested for a misdemeanor traffic violation the week after the shooting, but the police had to let him go. Still looking for three more people. News agency won't name names until formally charged by prosecutors. http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_093194736.html [cached]
4/04/06: Acting Chief Tim Dolan, Minneapolis Police: "We are extremely confident that the person responsible for the shooting is this 17-year-old male." Police are still looking for the gun used to kill Zebuhr. Families of both suspects (18-year-old girl and 17-year-old boy) protest their innocence. The girl has no prior criminal record. The boy was arrested the week before on the misdemeanor traffic violation; no other prior history mentioned. Captain Rich Stanek also spoke. from video on http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_093194736.html
4/04/06: Police said on Monday that two men had been arrested Monday (4/03/06) in the killing. Police will say more at a press conference Tuesday (4/4/06). [Who are these two men? Are these Johnson and Jacobs? No, these must be Johnson and his girlfriend; but how can they confuse a woman with a man? And she is not even been held for the case, but for something unrelated.] http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=122287 [cached]
4/04/06: The woman handed over her purse. A 17-year-old boy and a 22-year-old Minneapolis woman were arrested Monday (4/03/06). [This is the 18-year-old girlfriend.] Zebuhr and his crew returned to a car parked near 31st and Girard Av. S. in the Carag neighborhood. Police still are searching for three other suspects, the gun that killed Zebuhr and the getaway car, a white 1994 Ford Taurus with a Minnesota license plate number of GFG 527. Police released no descriptions of the three who remain free or mug shots of anyone involved. [Why take so long to release the license plate number? This just happens to be the same day that the car blows up. And why not release any mugshots or descriptions?] Police won't say anything about how the five suspects were connected, nor about the motive. Sgt. Al Kramer, who leads the Violent Crime Apprehension Team, said the two marshals and four of his plainclothes officers were checking addresses for the two suspects. "We thought he would run, but he didn't," Kramer said. "It was a good catch." [What strange language to use! Good catch?!] Of the five suspects, only the woman arrested is an adult. [But later we will learn that she is actually 18.] Police stopped the car about 13 blocks from the woman's home in north Minneapolis. [But other reports said they were arrested in her home.] http://www.startribune.com/467/story/351353.html [cached]
4/04/06: Lasonya Denise Miles has a date of birth (DOB) of 10-14-1983, which would make her 22 years old. [How do the police get a specific date of birth that is wrong?] The license plate of the white 1994 Ford Taurus used in the crime is GFG-527. [Why is the license plate released to the public not until the day that the car explodes?] Police asked for the public's assistance in finding three others involved in the crime. http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/police/news/20060404Arrests.asp [cached]
4/05/06: On Monday (4/03/06), police arrested a 17-year-old boy and a 22-year-old woman [This is the 18-year-old girlfriend], with the teen believed to be the shooter. Assistant Chief Tim Dolan said they were confident the teenager pulled the trigger. Charges were pending. "We are extremely confident that the person responsible for the shooting is the 17-year-old" arrested Monday afternoon, Dolan said. Police had issued a murder warrant for a second young man, and were seeking two other juveniles suspected of involvement in the March 18 shooting. [Why are they confident that they have arrested the right person? They do not say. Also, here it says they are looking for two others, but other reports say they are looking for four others. The 1994 Ford Taurus set on fire is very strange.] http://www.startribune.com/462/story/352781.html [cached]
4/05/06: Assistant Chief Tim Dolan said they are confident the teenager (the 17-yo-boy arrested on 4/03/06) pulled the trigger. The 17-year-old arrested had been arrested out of a north Minneapolis home just days after the murder, but was released. [Arrested for what reason? How is this related to the earlier car violation? Why is this not mentioned in other accounts?] He was rearrested last night after police gathered more information. Dolan asked for the public's help in finding the car, a white 1994 Ford Taurus with Minnesota license plate number GFG 527. [So now, over two weeks later, we suddenly know the license plate number? Why ask for help the day after the car is found?] http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=122330 [cached]
4/05/06: The 1994 Ford Taurus was found late Tuesday (4/04/06) in Brooklyn Park, where police believe it had been set on fire. http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=122399 [cached]
4/05/06: "This investigation has been tremendously stressful," said Dolan. [This is before all the five suspects have been arrested.] http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=122376 [cached]
4/05/06: Car explodes. Two people taken into custody, man and woman yesterday (4/04/06). The man is related to the juvenile who has not yet been arrested. [This date is different from the other date.] http://wcco.com/local/local_story_095110451.html [cached]
4/05/06: Car exploded yesterday (4/04/06) in Brooklyn Park neighborhood, miles from murder. License plate GFG-527 matched what the police were looking for. Sounded like a big crash, then the neighbors called police. Lt. Lee Edwards: "We don't know what evidence might have been destroyed. ... This gives us one more piece of the puzzle and it puts two more people away who are involved in this murder." Woman reporter: "Police wouldn't say what the connection was between the 22-year-old woman suspect and the 33-year-old male suspect, nor Dennis would they tell us if they are directly involved in the Zebuhr murder." (Yes, this contradicts what the lieutenant just said.) Two people who were arrested are 33-yr-old man and 22-yr-old woman. Man is related to the 17-year-old who has a warrant for his arrest. These two newly arrested people will be charged with arson tomorrow, and the original 17-boy and 18-girl will be charged tomorrow as well. [Who owns the vehicle? Why are they being charged with arson unless it is someone else's vehicle or insurance fraud?] from video at http://wcco.com/local/local_story_095110451.html [additional]
4/05/06: White Ford Taurus was purposely set on fire at 10pm Wed (4/05/06) in Brooklyn Park neighborhood. While police are glad to have tracked down the getaway car, its value as far as evidence is questionable. Lieutenant Edwards called finding the car "huge" but added, "Unfortunately the car was burned so we have some problem with the evidence, we don't know what evidence might have been destroyed." Residents saw a black car speed away, and that description allowed officers to track down the car and arrest two adults inside the car, the man being related to one of the suspects in the death. As for two other teens arrested Monday (4/03/06), including the alleged triggerman, prosecutors were given another 24 hours to come up with criminal charges. The extension was granted by a Hennepin County District court judge as police continue to work the case that seems to be changing daily with new developments. [How convenient to have the evidence destroyed. How do they know this is the vehicle? Why were they able to catch this black car immediately, but not the getaway car when it happened?] http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=122403 [cached]
4/05/06: Morgan Reynolds interviewed, says that Zebuhr's death looks like an execution. http://mp3.rbnlive.com/Stadt06.html [cached -- one.mp3, two.mp3]
4/05/06: An employee at a Calhoun Square business was chased to her car at approximately 11:30 Saturday night by at least two men with a screwdriver. http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/s15336.html [cached]
4/05/06: The 18-year-old woman (who was arrested along with the 17-year-old shooter) has been identified as Lasonya Miles, of Minneapolis. Police found the burned-out Ford Taurus Tuesday night (4/04/06). http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/s15300.html [cached]
4/05/06: The 1994 Ford Taurus was found late Tuesday (4/04/06) in Brooklyn Park. Police were trying to determine if the two people arrested were linked to the murder. On Monday (4/03/06), police arrested a 17-year-old boy and a 22-year-old woman. [The age is wrong -- she is 18 -- and the date appears to be wrong; other reports say Tuesday.] http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/breaking_news/14270483.htm [cached]
4/05/06: Police are "extremely confident" they have the killer (Johnson). Police have also arrested Miles. [Later, of course, they say that she was arrested on something unrelated. So why mention it here?] Police still seeking three other suspects, including Jacobs, and they ask for public's help in finding them. Police said all this on Tuesday (4/4/06). [How could they still be looking for three suspects on Tuesday, then file a police report on Wednesday using two of the three suspects as witnesses (Witnesses B and C; see below). No fanfare about the two witnesses turning themselves in and confessing?] [partially cached]
4/06/06: The 1994 Ford Taurus was found late Tuesday (4/04/06) in Brooklyn Park, where police believe it had been set on fire. http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=122456 [cached]
4/06/06: Two Minneapolis teens were charged with first-degree murder on Thursday (4/06/06), but police still looking for Jacobs. Billy Ray Deshawn Johnson, 17, and Donte Lamar Jacobs, also 17, were charged in Hennepin County District Court with first-degree murder while committing an aggravated robbery. Prosecutors alleged that Johnson was the shooter while Jacobs was charged as his companion who drove the car and participated in the robbery. [Did the companion only drive the car, or was he also with him during the shooting?] http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=122489 [cached]
4/06/06: Details about the robbery. According to witnesses, five people were in the car: Johnson, Jacobs, juvenile male, another individual, and someone who has now become a witness. Actually there are two witnesses who were in the vehicle, so the other one must be either the juvenile male or the other individual. When shots were fired, two people got out (witness and juvenile male). Johnson and Jacobs got back into the car, and Jacobs drove off with the other person. [So the driver gets out to do the robbery? Or perhaps the driver is the witness and he runs away instead of driving away? Why would you do that?] On Tuesday (4/04/06) the police recovered the vehicle. [So how did the vehicle blow up on 4/05/06?] Police believe 5 people were involved in the incident. [But this does not match the description of the 5 people who were arrested. How does the 33-yo male fit in, or the two women?] Used Jacobs' fingerprint on cell phone to catch him; the cell phone was located in a garbage bag behind a Columbia Heights, Minn. residence. [Whose residence? Where is this? Why just one fingerprint?] http://wcco.com/topstories/local_story_096132342.html [cached]
4/06/06: Two men are charged. Police still looking for Jacobs. http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/S15374.html?cat=1 [cached]
4/06/06: Actual police report gives all the details from the Witnesses A, B, and C, the latter two claiming to have been in the white car with Jacobs and Johnson. The report was filed on 4/06/06. [The story makes no sense. Why would the driver of the getaway car get out to do the robbery? Why would the other three flee on foot, then call to be picked up? Why are there not more details?] http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/S15375.html?cat=1 [cached]
4/06/06: City officials planning to hire more police and install more security cameras to make city safer. Police believe they have the person responsible for Zebuhr's killing in custody. http://wcco.com/politics/local_story_096115453.html [cached]
4/06/06: Two teens were charged with murder. As of Thursday (4/06/06), police were still searching for Jacobs. Jacobs was originally charged last week on a warrant that was sealed to protect the investigation, said Hennepin County District Attorney Amy Klobuchar. Zebuhr died two days after being shot. [Another mistake.] http://wcco.com/minnesotawire/MN--UptownShooting-mn/resources_news_html [cached]
4/06/06: After the murder, Twin Cities blogs and discussion forums zeroed in on the likely culprits. The killers, many agreed, were Somalis. Somali description is meaningless by itself. But police deny every saying anything about Somalis and blame the press for bringing it up. The press read a non-apology saying the idea came from the police. Description of suspects was so vague as to be meaningless. http://www.startribune.com/357/story/356596.html [cached]
4/06/06: Police had been looking for a white 1994 Ford Taurus. Two people were arrested late Tuesday (4/04/06) after Brooklyn Park police found a burning car. [Other reports say it was Wednesday.] The mother handed over her purse and no one resisted, but Zebuhr was shot anyway. Minneapolis police announced Tuesday that an 18-year-old woman and a 17-year-old boy have been arrested in connection with the case and that a murder warrant was issued for a second young man. Police also were looking for two other juveniles who may have played a role in the incident. http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/local/14273407.htm [cached]
4/06/06: "These are the main perpetrators," Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar said in an interview. "Johnson was the shooter and Jacobs was the robber-driver." Johnson and Jacobs will be automatically certified to stand trial as adults. Johnson and Miles were arrested on Tuesday (4/04/06). Charges are pending against man for burning vehicle. Fingerprint was lifted from cell phone. http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/breaking_news/14280203.htm [cached]
4/06/06: Police had been looking for a white 1994 Ford Taurus. [This is news to me. They never mentioned it before.] Two people were arrested late Tuesday (4/04/06) after Brooklyn Park police found a burning car. Investigators have not made a connection between the two arrested people and the death of Zebuhr. [partially cached]
4/06/06: Summary of police report. Purse was taken off Mom's shoulder. [Story has changed: It used to be that she handed him the purse.] http://www.hennepinattorney.org/news_2.asp?NRecno=302 [cached]
4/07/06: Jacobs took the purse off the Mom's shoulder, and Johnson then shot. Johnson's sister says that there is no way that he could have done this. Johnson's girlfriend is being held on unrelated misdemeanor chargers. Photos are not being released. [What kind of a coincidence is this? Police just happen to arrest the killer's girlfriend at the same time on an unrelated matter? Why no photos, when the photo of the other murderer Holliday was released right away?] Zebuhr's mother Strong remembered it was the taller of the two men who shot the gun, hence Johnson. Police are still searching on Thursday (4/06/06) for Jacobs. [Despite the misleading reports that indicated that the perpetrators had been caught.] http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_096132342.html [cached]
4/07/06: Billy Ray D. Johnson and Donte L. Jacobs are cousins. They are suspected of robbing a couple at gunpoint at a Wells Fargo bank ATM a few hours before Zebuhr was killed, police said. [Is this the same robbery as the one by the Somalis?] Capt. Rich Stanek said they knew early on whom they were looking for in the homicide. [If that is the case, then why did they arrest Johnson on a traffic violation and let him go?] Jacobs hasn't been caught. "Our main focus was to get these guys off the street," said Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar. "We're not as much concerned about why they did this." [This is shocking! Their motive is not important?! Why be glad to get these guys off the streets, when you haven't yet gotten them off the streets -- Jacobs is still at large!] Johnson and Jacobs don't have extensive criminal histories. [Do they have any criminal history?] For some unknown reason Johnson shot Zebuhr in the head. What they still don't know is why one of the teenagers allegedly shot Zebuhr in the head during a street robbery for his mother's purse. [And the police do not care about the reason!] Later, Jacobs received a cell-phone call asking him to pick up Johnson and the others at the McDonald's in Uptown. [This behavior makes no sense.] To break the case, a little luck was necessary to recover some evidence, Stanek said. [The luck, of course, was the suspects blowing up the getaway car right in front of houses filled with people. This is not what people normally do when they want to avoid being caught.] The case moved quickly because so many people were involved, he said. Investigators sometimes worked 18-hour shifts early in the investigation. [Why do the police keep congratulating themselves on what a great job they have done? The case was not quick. It was much slower than Holliday's.] Cell phone was found in Columbia Heights neighborhood. Leads took investigators out of state. [Which state?] http://www.startribune.com/467/story/355394.html [cached]
4/07/06: Jacobs still being sought. [But he has been found already.] These are the main perpetrators. [How can they know this if they do not yet have the full picture?] Man who set fire to vehicle will be charged by 4pm today. Police found a fingerprint of Jacobs on cell phone. [A single fingerprint?] Earlier police statements suggest that at least two other juveniles might be involved. Klobuchar said a grand jury would be convened in about two weeks to consider indictments. Police believe Johnson killed Michael Zebuhr while robbing the student. [But his accomplice was the one doing the robbing, and the robbing had already occurred.] Johnson and Miles were arrested on Tuesday (4/04/06). [Inconsistent with other reports that say Monday.] http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/news/local/14282621.htm [cached]
4/07/06: One of Johnson's fingerprints was allegedly on the cell phone. [This is wrong, of course, because the other accounts say it was Jacobs'. The other problem is that fingerprint is singular. How does that happen?] http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/S15374.html?cat=1 [cached]
4/07/06: Article in Clemson's student-run newspaper (The Tiger) parrots nonsense from Minnesota papers. The title, "Police arrest suspects," will undoubtedly cause most readers to believe that the crime has been solved.
4/07/06: Police arrested Derrick L. Johnson on Tuesday (4/04/06) after they located the 1994 white Ford Taurus. Johnson was charged on Friday (4/07/07) with arson. [Whose vehicle is it? Can you be charged with arson for burning your own vehicle unless it is insurance fraud?] Police found a burning gas can. The front license plate had been torn off the car, and the rear plate was folded in as though an attempt was made to hide the number. [What?! How would this hide the number? Why not take the plate off?] A man run away from the burning car and get into a Cadillac that was driven by a blond woman. Johnson was not wearing pants, his legs were burned and one was bleeding, and his T-shirt had a burn hole in it. [Strange details to give us.] Police believe Johnson is a relative of the 17-year-old male suspect. [What kind of relative? Three days later they still do not know whether they are related?] http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_097172354.html [cached]
4/07/06: Donte L. Jacobs, who is accused of taking a purse from a woman, as another teen shot her son, had been charged in June (2005, I guess) with threatening to shoot a man who owed him money, according to a court document. The man tried to shield his children and several friends as Jacobs pointed the gun in a Hopkins parking lot, the document said. The charges against Jacobs in the Hopkins parking lot incident were dismissed when the witness recanted his statement before the case went to trial. [Why bring up an incident last summer in which the charges were dropped? It looks like a specious attempt to make it seem like he's a criminal. Also, now he took the purse from her, instead of her handing it to him.] Police are reaching out to the family. "We want this young man to have his day in court," said Ron Edwards, a member of Minneapolis' Police Community Relations Council. "We're not trying to establish if he's guilty or not. We just want him to be brought in safely." [This is about the weirdest thing I have ever heard. He makes it sound as if his goal is to help Jacobs rather than to charge him with murder. Is he saying that he does not care whether Jacobs is guilty?] Johnson's mother, Sharron Johnson, says he is scared. He hasn't been arrested or charged with any serious crimes before this one, an assertion confirmed by authorities. He had 13 unexcused absences during the first three months of the school year. [Wow, this is all they could find on him, that he missed a few days of school?!] Sharron Johnson said Derrick Johnson wasn't related to her son or anybody in her family. [Why, then, do police still think they are related?] Stanek said. "The public should be extremely afraid of him [Jacobs]," said Capt. Rich Stanek. [But no description or picture of Jacobs has been released, so how can they be afraid of him?] Zebuhr died on March 18. [Another wrong date.] http://www.startribune.com/467/story/359007.html [cached]
4/08/06: Two more Minneapolis shootings, one of which is a murder. http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=122718 [cached]
4/08/06: Two 17-year-old cousins are facing first-degree murder charges in the case. Police had one of them in custody while the other was still being sought. [Now they're cousins!] Also, a car sought in connection with the case was found burning in Brooklyn Park on Tuesday (4/04/06) night. http://www.startribune.com/462/story/359092.html [cached]
4/08/06: Police will increase presence in response to two recent high-profile murders. http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/legislature/14292652.htm [cached]
4/09/06: Police say the victim didn't try to stop the robbers and gave them no reason to shoot. http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/local/14293771.htm [cached]
4/12/06: Jacobs' family says they are not hiding him, they have not seen him recently, and they are asking him to turn himself in. His relatives have become increasingly concerned that the longer he tries to elude police, the more difficult it will become to bring him in safely. [Why would he not be safe?] Minneapolis police Capt. Rich Stanek said he is afraid for the public's safety because Jacobs is on the run and could do something irrational. [If he is afraid for the public's safety, then why has no detailed description of Jacobs, including a picture, been released?] Donisha Jacobs (his aunt) was shocked to hear that he was allegedly involved. Diane Jacobs (his grandmother) said that he was hanging around the wrong crowd, and that he was angry and didn't care about things. http://www.startribune.com/462/story/368027.html [cached]
4/13/06: Jacobs' family asks him to turn himself in. Video shows his grandmother and aunt. http://wcco.com/local/local_story_103130339.html [cached]
4/27/06: Authorities charged 33-year-old Derrick L. Johnson as an accomplice for destroying evidence in the murder investigation. [Johnson is the one whom the police caught after the "getaway" car was blown up.] Johnson is the father of Donte Lamar Jacobs, 17. [Earlier accounts said that police believed he was related to the other Johnson (Billy Ray Deshawn Johnson, the alleged killer). This is an interesting twist.] http://wcco.com/local/local_story_117172740.html [cached]
A description of Derrick L. Johnson, with mug shots, can be found on the Minnesota Most Wanted Fugitives list: http://info.doc.state.mn.us/Fugitive/individual.asp?OID=179342 (accessed: 5/1/06) [cached]
4/28/06: Derrick Lamon Johnson, 33, was charged with two felony counts: (1) being an accomplice after the fact, and (2) second-degree arson. [Again, who owns the car? How can he be charged with arson without first identifying the owner of the vehicle?] Police believe he is the man who torched the car used by the suspects. Authorities said he helped Jacobs by destroying evidence of the killing. [What type of evidence was destroyed? Wouldn't the most important evidence be the gun used in the murder? How would blowing up the car destroy the gun? Were gun remnants found in the blown-up car?] He is accused of using fire or explosives to destroy property. [Whose property? How can they not know whether fire or explosives were used?] Johnson is the third one arrested in the murder. [This fact would require the younger Johnson and Jacobs to have been arrested, but Jacobs has not been arrested because he has not been caught.] Authorities said Johnson has a "father/son" relationship with 17-year-old Donte Lamar Jacobs. [This is strange language: Are they saying that Johnson is Jacobs' father or not? Note that there is only a 16 year difference between their ages, which is not impossible but statistically rare. In California, 2004, for example, 0.2% of children were born to fathers of age 16. See http://www.dhs.ca.gov/hisp/chs/OHIR/tables/birth/dadage.htm ] http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=123837 [cached]
Other stories in which surveillance videotape of crime is shown in Minnesota news sources:
8/10/05: Robber pointed gun at face of clerk in convenience store. Incident was caught on videotape, which you can view in the on-line article. http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/s9839.html [cached]
9/27/05: Two Minnesota Vikings players are arrested at an auto store following an argument. Snapshots from the surveillance video can be viewed in the on-line article. http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/s10713.html [cached]
2/05/06: With a population of 418 people, Sanborn, Minn. has nine surveillance video cameras monitoring all four streets leading into town and preserves the recorded images for two weeks. http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_037003344.html [cached]
2/09/06: Police are asking for the public's help in identifying a man they believe robbed a convenience store using a screwdriver as a weapon. Surveillance photos show a suspect holding a screwdriver at a cashier, then reaching into a cash register. http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_040083908.html [cached]
2/25/06: Police hope to make the streets of St. Paul safer by installing closed-circuit surveillance cameras throughout the city of St. Paul. The cameras are similar to 29 installed through a Target Corp. Safe Cities grant around the Block E entertainment district in downtown Minneapolis. Minneapolis police Inspector Rob Allen said they have been effective, leading to 250 arrests since being installed 18 months ago. The most common offenses are drug-related, but the cameras have helped prosecute robberies, assaults and other crimes. http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_056183205.html [cached]
3/01/06: Police say they have identified the suspect in January's screwdriver holdup of a Minneapolis convenience store. Police said surveillance photos showed the man holding a screwdriver at the cashier, then reaching into a cash register. http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_060124153.html [cached]
3/15/06: Terrorized woman. Police finally traced many of the calls to a pay phone at Cub Foods. Surveillance cameras apparently caught Roubinek making a call and investigators arrested him at his rooming house. http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_074223956.html [cached]
4/01/06: A man and woman suspected of committing burglaries in nearly a dozen Twin Cities communities were apprehended. Surveillance video shows the couple taking a plasma TV from an Eden Prairie senior complex. They were also photographed at a pawn shop. http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_091103119.html [cached]
4/04/06: Derick Dasean Holliday, 21, was charged with the murder of Alan D. Reitter, 31, who was shot in the head by a random bullet Friday night (3/31/06) in downtown Minneapolis. Reitter died at Hennepin County Medical Center [the same place where Zebuhr died]. Mugshot of Holliday is shown in the article. Zebuhr's robbers have not been arrested. [They did a good job on this case of finding the killer quickly. Is Zebuhr's case that much harder? Why do they say that they have not been arrested when they have?] http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/s15298.html [cached]
4/05/06: Video from a parking lot security camera showing last Friday night's (3/31/06) murder of Reitter in Minneapolis was shown to reporter. http://www.startribune.com/357/story/351428.html [cached]
4/06/06: Alan Reitter killed in apparently random shooting in downtown. (His killer was caught; see above.) http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=122434 [cached]
4/07/06: Stolen paintings recovered. Surveillance video showed a man walking into the hospital after the front desk was closed, pulling Burnley's two largest and most valuable paintings off a wall and walking off. http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_097182415.html [cached]
4/10/06: Armed robbery at Lee's Superette (convenience store in Vadnais Heights), in which two men jump the counter and lunge at the clerk with a knife. Police believe they were trying to kill him and then steal his money. Clerk suffered only minor wounds. The release of the videotape came less than 24 hours after the attack. The incident was caught on videotape, and the entire video (from start to finish) can be viewed in the on-line article. [This robbery is the same as the Little Canada one below.] http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=122816 [cached]
4/10/06: Police in Vadnais Heights, Minn. are asking for the public's help in finding two people they said stabbed a store owner (Rich's Superette) during a robbery attempt Sunday (4/09/06) night. http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_100120644.html [cached]
4/11/06: Convenience store owner in Little Canada (a suburb of the Twin Cities metropolitan area) suffered stab wounds in a brazen robbery captured on surveillance video. Video showing him being attacked is shown on website. Police grabbed information from the tapes, showing what they're wearing, etc. Sheriff says, "I would be surprised if they had not done this before, but I'm also more concerned they'll do this again sometime in the next week". New announcer: "Police showed the tape quickly after the attack because of the fear that they talked about that the pair will attack again." http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/s15446.html [cached]
4/12/06: Two suspects in the Little Canada / Vadnais Heights robbery have been identified as Fernando Marcia and a juvenile. [Just one day later!] Both suspects have long criminal histories, Marcia is a local gang leader, and the suspects may flee to CA, CO, or AZ. [Lots of details given, even details that might help him to escape police.] http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/s15472.html [cached]
4/12/06: Police video of drunk driver shown. http://wcco.com/ "Caught on Tape: Drunk Bus Driver"
4/17/06: The U.S. Marshal's Office arrested a man wanted for stabbing a convenience store (Rich's Superette) clerk during a robbery attempt in Vadnais Heights, Minn. on April 9. http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_107174752.html [cached]
4/20/06: A store owner (Sam's Market) was stabbed multiple times during a robbery in South Minneapolis Tuesday, and police hope graphic images from a surveillance tape will help identify the suspects. http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_108232825.html [cached]
4/23/06: Second suspect in Vadnais Heights robbery captured. http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/news/local/14406826.htm [cached]
4/23/06: The second suspect in the stabbing of a Vadnais Heights, Minn. convenience store owner is in custody. Police say the incident was recorded by store surveillance cameras. http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_112190617.html [cached]
4/24/06: Two brothers were arrested Monday (4/24/06) for the stabbing of the owner of a convenience store (Sam's Market). The robbery occurred last week, and police shared the store surveillance video with the media last week. Picture from video is shown in news article. http://www.startribune.com/462/story/389660.html [cached]
4/24/06: Two men were arrested Monday in connection with a robbery and stabbing at a South Minneapolis convenience store, Sam's Market. http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_114121330.html [cached]
* What others are saying:
Jonesreport says it's suspicious. http://www.jonesreport.com/articles/member_of_scholars_for_911_truth_killed.html
4/01/06: Blogspot says it was hit job. http://covertoperations.blogspot.com/2006/04/update-on-michael-zebuhrs-murder.html
Another blog: http://www.team8plus.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?2590
Darryl Bardford Smith accuses Judy Wood of being involved in murder. http://www.iamthewitness.com/DarylBradfordSmith_Michael.html
Another blog: http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2006/03/department_of_c.asp
Says it looks related to 9/11: http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=4318 (article repeated at http://matbm.blogmaker.com/entry.php?u=matbm&e_id=8208 and http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/83350)
http://www.atsnn.com/story/200408.html (repeat of other blog)
Blog attempting to debunk Zebuhr was killed by conspiracy by name calling. http://rambix.blogspot.com/2006/04/zebuhr-conspiracy.html
Mentions that there might be a connection between the murder and 9/11: http://www.unknowncountry.com/news/?id=5193
Before dismissing this possibility as just another "conspiracy theory," consider a few reasons to treat it seriously:
1) 9/11 is the most important political event of the 20th century, and if insiders did it, they and their opponents are playing for the highest stakes possible, and the perpetrators would be entirely capable of murder or murder for hire,
2) MZ had only recently been introduced to 9/11 but he "took" off with it, contributing on both the research and education fronts within a couple of weeks (in memoriam: http://www.scholarsfor911truth.org/ and http://www.scholarsfor911truth.org/ArticlAluminumGlows_1Mar06.html),
3) Killing MZ would have a "chilling" effect on scholars, researchers and students skeptical of the government's 9/11 story, and st911 had already made startling progress in publicizing 9/11 as an inside job,
4) News accounts of MZ's murder make it sound suspiciously like an execution rather than a robbery gone bad since the accused trigger man simply headed straight for MZ, who allegedly was not resisting, and put a bullet in his head (asked, "didn't he find this strange?", detective sergeant Peter Jackson of MPLS PD gave a "boiler plate" answer, in effect saying, "The circumstances in every murder are different, no two are alike").
5) The website of the so-called French Connection, http://www.iamthewitness.com/DarylBradfordSmith_Michael.html has recklessly accused Professor Jim Fetzer, founder of st911.org, and Clemson engineering Professor Judy Wood, of complicity in MZ's murder. Since there is no evidence to back this charge up, it raises the question of whether it was done to divert attention away from someone else. But distract to protect whom? Another professor? Someone else?
6) What was the motive behind the killing? This is crucial because there was no apparent gain to murdering MZ except the thrill of killing someone. That was quite a risk for killers presumably leaving three eyewitnesses from MZ's party behind and quite alive. So either it was a stupid testosterone-driven (including drug-alcohol-driven) murder or it was 9/11-driven. It was politically purposeful or it was a stupidly tragic murder. Oddly, the assistant prosecutor was quoted in the press as saying that she did not care about motive.
7) The media reported there were one or two video tapes of the crime and police were examining it/them in their efforts to clear the crime with arrests. Now Sgt. Jackson says, "There is no video tape." That strikes me as awfully convenient.
8) Regarding the murder weapon and running ballistics tests, Sgt. Jackson would not claim the police had a murder weapon, merely that they were continuing the investigation.
Below is a more complete recounting of the media coverage of MZ's murder and the many anomalies in the investigation, as prepared by Professor Stan Burchfield at Clemson.
--------------
The Mysterious Case of Michael Zebuhr
5/23/06
Summary
Michael Zebuhr, a student member of ST911, was shot in the forehead twice outside a Minneapolis restaurant during the evening of 3/18/06. He died the next day. The murder was caught on surveillance videotape, and three eyewitnesses were present at the scene. Yet no detailed description of the suspects has been given, nor has the video been released or its contents described.
The police have arrested one person in the case, the man they claim did the shooting. The police have not said why they are so confident that they have the right person, although they have repeatedly stated that they are confident. The murder weapon has not been found. No motive has been determined, and authorities have even gone so far as to state that they are not interested in the motive. They have arrested three other people, but no connection with the case has been established. A fifth person is sought but has not been arrested. Overall, five people have been arrested or charged, and five people are claimed to have been involved in the case. But the former five are not the same as the latter five.
From day one, the police have treated the case as a crime in the past to be solved rather than a present threat to the public. There has been no sense of urgency in solving the crime.
Details about the crime have been scanty, and they have been released only when needed. For example, the license plate of the alleged getaway vehicle was only released to the public (asking for their help to find it) on the day that the vehicle was found. The only description of the suspects attributed to Michael's mother, who was with him at the time, is that the taller of the two men fired the shot. Even this description only came out several weeks later, and it seems meaningless given that their heights have not been revealed and that the second suspect has not been arrested.
The reports in the media are full of contradictions and rabbit trails.
Some reasons to believe that this was a hit job, and that there is a police cover-up:
1
Unusual nature of the crime. This was a cold-blooded murder in an area generally considered to be safe. Police and residents say that it is unprecedented. Does not fit typical model. Moreover, the killing looks like an execution, with two bullets to the forehead. The murderer did not mind leaving three eyewitnesses.
2
Unusual behavior of the police. Lack of urgency from day one. Police have congratulated themselves, even while they have not succeeded at getting the criminals. Leads took them out of state?
3
Video has not been released. In other crimes, the video was shown to the media. The video is crucial for catching the criminals, and it is crucial for alerting the public to the presence of dangerous men on the streets. This gives strong evidence for a cover-up. Police are not revealing other information either, such as a description of the assailants, the license plate, etc. In addition, no statements from the three eyewitnesses have been released to the public, which is quite unusual.
4
Groundless assertions. Police repeatedly have said that they are "extremely confident" that they have arrested the killer, but they have not given any reason for us to believe this. They say others are not related to the crime, but again no reason. They say they believe five are involved, but they will not tell us how they know this.
5
Lack of evidence. Alleged killer has no criminal record, no motive, no weapon, etc. Why should we believe that he is the killer?
6
The official story does not add up. Five arrested, but not the five who are supposed to be involved. Two of the criminals came forward as witnesses, but the news media did not report this development. The criminals fled the scene on foot, then called later to be picked up.
7
Rabbit trails abound. Car runs red light, guns thrown out of vehicle, people are arrested as possibly involved in the murder. Then police say that the news reports were inaccurate and that there is no relation. The girlfriend of the alleged murderer just happens to be arrested at the same time he is arrested, even though she was not involved in the murder (according to police). First it is Somalis, then police deny every saying Somalis. Car blows up in neighborhood.
8
Contradictions galore. Did Zebuhr die on Sunday, Monday, or Saturday? Did car blow up on Tuesday or Wednesday? Are Jacobs and Johnson cousins? Is the elder Johnson the father of Jacobs, of Johnson, or of neither? Woman is 18 or 22?
Research Notes
Summary of timeline:
3/18/06: Zebuhr is shot around 9:55pm, dies on 3/19/06. (Some reports incorrectly say he died on 3/20.) The murder is captured on videotape, and three eyewitnesses were there, but the video is never released, nor is any description given of the culprits.
Week after shooting (3/19/06 - 3/25/06): Billy Ray D. Johnson, 17-yo-boy, is arrested on a misdemeanor traffic violation and released. No mention of connection to murder.
3/21/06: Low-speed chase in vehicle matching description. Three occupants: Aiesha Williams (driver), Omari Thomas, and James Walker. Handguns thrown from the vehicle, two men released on 3/23/06. Aiesha is presumably released shortly thereafter, since we never heard from her again.
4/03/06: Johnson is arrested again at the house of his girlfriend, Lasonya Denise Miles, an 18-year-old girl. (Initial reports say she is 22 years old, and that Johnson is a child. Other reports say they were arrested while driving.) Miles is also arrested. Many reports incorrectly say that Miles is arrested in connection with the murder, but she is actually being charged with something unrelated (and unspecified). The police are confident that the 17-year-old is the shooter, but they do not say why.
4/05/06: White Ford Taurus was purposely set on fire the same day that the police release the license plate number, and a 22-year-old woman and 33-year-old man are arrested. Police think that the latter is related to a fifth person (17-year-old boy, Donte L. Jacobs) for whom police are still searching, although family say they are not related.
4/06/06: Johnson and Jacobs charged. (Some accounts led us to believe that Jacobs had been arrested.)
Inconsistencies:
Just happen to arrest the shooter on a traffic violation the week before?
Vehicle chase just happens to be in a car of the same description as the get-away vehicle?
Police ask public for help, then say that they don't need public's help because they are making such great progress.
No explanation for how the five suspects being arrested match with the two men who did the killing. No explanation of motive.
Vehicle is burned by two other people? Is this the same vehicle as the low-speed chase?
Almost no story mentions Zebuhr's involvement in 911ST. Almost no story mentions two bullets. No mention of videotapes. No mention of ballistic tests.
Description of suspects is vague, and no clothing description given, even though eyewitnesses described clothes.
Sloppy reporting, or intentional confusion:
18-year-old woman is initially said to be 22.
Jacobs is charged and some reports lead the reader to believe that he has been arrested (4/06), then they say he has not been arrested (4/07). Some accounts later (4/28) still say he was arrested, which is not true.
Car is two-door or four-door? Car in video is 4-door.
Car set on fire Tuesday or Wednesday?
She gave him the purse or he took it from her shoulder?
Mike died on Lord's Day (Sunday) or Monday, or Saturday?
Mike's birthdate?
Johnson and Jacobs are cousins? Why is this not mentioned for so long?
Are Johnson and Johnson related or not? The elder Johnson is Jacob's dad? Why is this mentioned so late in the game?
Leads took investigators out of state? To what state?
Were the younger Johnson and his girlfriend arrested at her home, or on the street while driving?
Elder Johnson is arrested for arson, but whose property is the vehicle? Arson requires the vehicle to be owned by someone else, or insurance fraud.
The notes below are in chronological order, taken primarily from the following news sources:
www.kstp.com
www.wcco.com
www.kare11.com
www.startribune.com
www.twincities.com
Every related article from these news sources, between 3/18/06 and 5/23/06, is catalogued below.
2/24/06: Zebuhr first mentions to Judy Wood, one of his professors at Clemson, that he has been studying the 9/11 event and is now convinced of the conspiracy. Zebuhr emails Wood.
3/10/06: First and only meeting of Clemson 911ST student group, led and organized by Zebuhr.
3/20/06: Police did not release details of suspects. Red Star newspaper criticized for putting story on the inside of the "B" section, with no description of suspects. Downtown has become more dangerous in the last five years. Nine robberies in the week preceding. Earwitness heard two gunshots. http://rambix.blogspot.com/2006/03/more-updates-on-uptown-minneapolis.html [cached]
3/20/06: Zebuhr was walking with his mother, sister and her friend after they finished dinner in a restaurant at Hennepin Avenue and Lake Street. The suspects allegedly fired two shots, hitting the man in the head. Police said the suspects immediately fled the scene, jumped into a white car and headed south on Girard Avenue. It happened about five minutes to 10. Resident Justin Ellis says he was mugged early in the morning last summer. Police gave vague descriptions of the suspects, only saying they are men between 17 years old and 22 years old and were both wearing dark clothing. [The news video shows the street and interviews residents who live there... indicating they were out on the street, NOT in a parking garage.] http://wcco.com/local/local_story_078110804.html [cached]
3/21/06: Police said on Saturday night (3/18/06), Zebuhr was walking to a parked car with family members, when robbers approached them and demanded his mother's purse. (street map -- restaurant at Hennepin/Lake, shooting at 31st/Girard.) (picture of Calhoun Square parking ramp near 21st and Girard.) (another picture of Calhoun Square.) She gave it to the gunmen without any resistance. One gunman shot Zebuhr twice in the head. Police said the shooting appeared to be cold-blooded and unprovoked. Police are hoping for a break in the case. Several security cameras were pointed in the direction where the shooting happened and police are now reviewing those tapes. The area is filled with around-the-clock visitors and residents. Minneapolis Police Deputy Chief Sharon Lubinski (picture of Lubinski): "She said that although the shooting is a tragedy, it was very unusual and similar crimes rarely happen in that area." Lubinski: "This was a very unusual incident... It really is very unusual for that area" According to statistics, burglary in the 5th precinct is up 14 percent and robbery is up 43 percent compared to one year ago. Letter to uptown newspaper two months ago mentioned increasing robberies and burglaries, warning of potential to causing bodily harm to victims. News announcer on video: "Police are not releasing very many details." Christine Devens, CARAG (Calhoun Area Resident Action Group) Neighborhood Association: "I think overall we think of this area as a very safe area." Announcer: "For an area filled round the clock with visitors and residents, Saturday's violence is shattering." Announcer: "She [Zebuhr's mother] cooperated completely, so for now police are saying that this shooting was unprovoked and cold blooded." Announcer: "But now Zebuhr is in very grave condition at HCMC with gunshot wounds to the head." [Notice: "wounds" is plural, indicating multiple shots.] Announcer: "The manager of another business told us she's considering paying for her employees to park at a parking ramp. At a ramp, at least there are at least a few extra set of eyes keeping watch. (picture of security camera in parking garage.) [Some of this information is from the two accompanying news videos.] http://wcco.com/local/local_story_079230508.html [cached]
3/21/06: Lt. Lee Edwards of the Minneapolis Police Department said, "Within a half hour of the incident, we had already had six homicide investigators or six officers with homicide experience already working this thing." http://wcco.com/local/local_story_080101653.html [cached]
3/21/06: But then, apparently without provocation, one of the men turned his gun on Strong's son and shot him in the head. They had been dining out in the Calhoun Square shopping complex. South Minneapolis fifth precinct which has seen 100 armed robberies since the first of the year. Daniel Pineiro recounts being mugged. http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=121215 [cached]
3/21/06: Zebuhr was a remarkable person with a bright future. Julia Conley, family friend: "I've been to Uptown myself, shopped there alone, and I've personally never felt unsafe. It's not a place in this world where you feel you have to worry." http://www.startribune.com/467/story/321164.html [cached]
3/21/06: Robberies in Uptown have spiked several times in the past year, leading to increased police presence and consequent lull in robberies. [Interesting: This seems to indicate that the area was actually safer than people have been saying; the robbery rate had gone down.] The robbery was unusual. "Overall, the Uptown area is very safe," said Deputy Chief Sharon Lubinski. Uptown businesses hire off-duty officers to patrol and complement regular police patrols. http://www.startribune.com/467/story/319934.html [cached]
3/21/06: Zebuhr's sister, Laura, is a graduate instructor at the University of Minnesota. [partially cached]
3/22/06: Judy Wood receives email from Clemson University indicating that Mike Zebuhr has been removed from her class roll
3/22/06: Police said two men in their 20s approached the group, stole Zebuhr's mother's purse and as they left, fired two shots into Zebuhr's forehead. Investigators said they have 15 officers working the case full-time. http://wcco.com/local/local_story_080225959.html [cached]
3/22/06: As for the shooting, police still do not have a detailed description of the suspects. Not enough streetlights in the neighborhood. http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=121230 [cached]
3/22/06: Police say since Saturday night, about 15 investigators have been working on this case, but they released little new information during a Tuesday afternoon (3/21/06) press conference. Police say they are working around the clock on this case. "There have been developments, but I can't go into that either," said Lt. Lee Edwards. Information is tight, but the police chief did want to assure Zebuhr's family that they will close this case. "No matter how long it takes, we will not stop until we bring these perpetrators to justice," Minneapolis Police Chief William McManus said. The Somali Justice Advocacy Center is offering a $2,000 reward in this case. But police say that doesn't necessarily mean the suspects are Somali. Police say the only description of the suspects is extremely vague: two black men, between the ages of 17 and 22, who were wearing dark clothes. Police aren't giving a detailed clothing description but do think they fled south from 31st and Girard in a four-door white car that was parked in an alley. Anyone with information should give police a call at 612-692-8477. (No clothing description, despite the fact that eyewitnesses described clothing? Only vague description, despite the fact that it was caught on videotape?) http://www.kare11.com/news/ts_article.aspx?storyid=121295 [cached]
3/22/06: After slow-speed chase, police arrested two 27-yo-men and one 22-yo-woman. Three handguns were thrown from the car and recovered by police. Police stress no connection is being made, but one news report citing a police source says that they are suspects in the Zebuhr shooting. Blank mug shot of no one shown. http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=121331 [cached]
3/22/06: "At this point members of our criminal investigation division are saying there's no connection, however we will be exploring that possibility," cautioned Police spokesman Ron Reier. Police will be doing ballistics tests to see whether the handguns match the Zebuhr bullets. Zebuhr's death happened just ten blocks from where Tuesday night's (3/21/06) police chase began. Police have 36 hours to charge the three people, probably on illegal weapons charges. Police are also reviewing surveillance video from an Uptown bank's drive-up ATM where a customer was approached by two Somali men Saturday night a couple of hours prior to the murder. http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=121354 [cached]
3/22/06: Died on Sunday. http://www.startribune.com/467/story/324747.html [cached]
3/22/06: Up to six officers with homicide experience were present within 30 minutes and up to 15 officers have worked the case, he said. Police have released a vague description of two male suspects in dark clothing. Authorities said the suspects got into a white, four-door car that headed south in the alley between Girard and Hennepin Avenues. More people may have been waiting in the getaway car, police have said. [Why just a vague description released? Also, this account contradicts the later court document, in which one of them flees on foot.] Zebuhr died Sunday. http://www.startribune.com/467/story/322376.html [cached]
3/22/06: Crime is in the area (knife fights and muggings), and few streetlights on street. But this is something we have not seen: A totally innocent person. http://www.startribune.com/467/story/322510.html [cached]
3/22/06: Zebuhr died late Monday (3/20/06) night. [partially cached]
3/23/06, 9:00 am: Clemson University sends email to all faculty, staff, students about Zebuhr's death
3/23/06: Huy Nguyen was Zebuhr's waiter Saturday night at Chang Mai Tai, where Zebuhr, his mother, sister and a friend at dinner before the fatal shooting. She gave up her purse but for reasons no one yet knows. Zebuhr was shot in the head. http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=121377 [cached]
3/23/06: Low-speed / high-speed chase of vehicle that matched the description. Aiesha Williams was driver. Police say the other occupants of the vehicle, Omari Thomas and James Walker, threw loaded handguns out of the vehicle during the chase. Thomas and Walker were released from the Hennepin County jail at noon Thursday (3/23/06) but may still face weapons charges. Williams is still in custody and may be charged with fleeing police. City Councilmember Ralph Remington said the investigation into the murder of Michael Zebuhr is progressing: "There are a couple of promising leads that are more than promising, very substantial, and that should lead to the capture of the killers." http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/S15053.html?cat=1 [cached]
3/24/06: 911 callers give some tips about the murder. Another said the caller saw two men in their early 20s, one wearing a Raiders jacket and the other wearing a red baseball cap. The two men then got into a white two-door car. http://wcco.com/local/local_story_082213938.html [cached]
3/24/06: Minneapolis Police continue to narrow their search for the people who killed Zebuhr. http://wcco.com/local/local_story_083174617.html [cached]
3/24/06: A 23-year-old woman was charged with a felony Thursday (3/23/06) for allegedly fleeing Minneapolis police in her car Tuesday (3/21/06) night. Aiesha Camille Williams of Hopkins was arrested after police said they saw a car run a red light at Pillsbury Avenue South and West 31st Street. During a pursuit, officers said they saw three guns thrown from the vehicle. http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/news/local/14172794.htm [cached]
3/24/06; Letter to the editor: Police advice is dumb, because that's exactly what Zebuhr did. Uptown has many unstable panhandlers. http://www.startribune.com/563/story/327117.html [cached]
3/24/06: Contrary to TV report, no connection between Williams and Zebuhr murder. Three guns were thrown from vehicle. Charged on Thursday (3/23/06), chase was on Tuesday (3/21/06). [partially cached]
3/25/06: Vigil held tonight in neighborhood where killed 31st Street and Girard Avenue, Minneapolis. Police have not made any arrests in the case. http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=121510 [cached]
3/25/06: Letter to the editor calls the killing an execution. http://www.startribune.com/563/story/329241.html [cached]
As of 3/26/06, authorities haven't arrested any suspects: http://www.wboy.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=9698 [cached]
3/26/06: Vigil held the night before. An increased police presence had already made neighborhood safer. No suspects have been arrested. http://wcco.com/local/local_story_085090130.html [cached]
Judy Wood's pictures of security cameras http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=125x77684 [cached]. See email of 4/2/06
3/29/06: Dolan said police do have promising leads in the Uptown murder. He added that if their investigation was not active, he would appeal to the public for more information: "Believe me, if we were swinging in the air, we'd come to you, to be a positive [sic.]." (Since when do the police not want the people to help find a killer at large?) http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/s15192.html [cached]
3/29/06: Shooting took place 9:55 pm on Saturday, 3/18/06; died died at 11:30 p.m. Sunday, 3/19/06, in the Hennepin County Medical Center. [Note that this date is wrong in later articles.] Zebuhr was from Buckhannon, W. Va., and a 2005 graduate of Davis & Elkins College with a bachelor of science degree in mathematics and chemistry. http://theintermountain.com/news/articles.asp?articleID=2588 [cached]
3/29/06, James H. Fetzer says:
This afternoon I had the chance to speak with the homicide detective who is investigating the death of Michael Zebuhr, a student member of Scholars for 9/11 Truth. I explained that many members of the society were concerned that this killing might have had something to do with his association with Scholars. The detective informed me that substantial progress has been made and implied that they have suspects in custody. He told me it was a rather long story, which will soon be in the public domain, but that nothing about this death suggested any connection to his membership in S9/11T. I expressed my appreciation for the work the department is doing in solving the crime and explained that I was confident that the members of the society would be relieved to know that there seems to be no connection between his membership and his death. It is my opinion that what I was told is accurate and complete relative to my inquiry and that we are going to know much more very soon. http://www.scholarsfor911truth.org/EmailNews29Mar2006.html [cached]
L.A. police paid $1.1M to Notorious B.I.G.'s family for withholding documents. The rapper's family claims that a corrupt police officer arranged to have him killed. (So hit jobs do occur.) "L.A. to pay B.I.G.'s family $1.1M," 3/30/06, http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/30/notorious.big.ap/index.html [cached]
As of 3/31/06, no mention on crime alert bulletin: http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/police/crimealert/ [cached]
3/31/06: Police have said that members of Zebuhr's group did everything they were supposed to and that it's unusual for robbers to shoot their victims. There have been no arrests in the case, and police are tight-lipped about developments, although a City Council member who lives a block from the homicide scene has said authorities have "substantial" leads. Fetzer, who is also a philosophy professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth, said he recently spoke with a Minneapolis homicide detective who said the killing has nothing to do with Zebuhr's affiliation with the group. [They are tight-lipped about everything but 9/11 involvement. Substantial leads? This is what they said the week before.] Mike died the next day. [Correct, but inconsistent with other reports.] http://www.startribune.com/467/story/342036.html [cached]
4/04/06: Memorial service at Clemson. Mike's Dad and Mom and girlfriend are present. Interesting event.
4/04/06: Another description of arrest, with license plate of car. Family says the woman is actually 18 years old and dating the boy. The boy was arrested for a misdemeanor traffic violation the week after the shooting, but the police had to let him go. Still looking for three more people. News agency won't name names until formally charged by prosecutors. http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_093194736.html [cached]
4/04/06: Acting Chief Tim Dolan, Minneapolis Police: "We are extremely confident that the person responsible for the shooting is this 17-year-old male." Police are still looking for the gun used to kill Zebuhr. Families of both suspects (18-year-old girl and 17-year-old boy) protest their innocence. The girl has no prior criminal record. The boy was arrested the week before on the misdemeanor traffic violation; no other prior history mentioned. Captain Rich Stanek also spoke. from video on http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_093194736.html
4/04/06: Police said on Monday that two men had been arrested Monday (4/03/06) in the killing. Police will say more at a press conference Tuesday (4/4/06). [Who are these two men? Are these Johnson and Jacobs? No, these must be Johnson and his girlfriend; but how can they confuse a woman with a man? And she is not even been held for the case, but for something unrelated.] http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=122287 [cached]
4/04/06: The woman handed over her purse. A 17-year-old boy and a 22-year-old Minneapolis woman were arrested Monday (4/03/06). [This is the 18-year-old girlfriend.] Zebuhr and his crew returned to a car parked near 31st and Girard Av. S. in the Carag neighborhood. Police still are searching for three other suspects, the gun that killed Zebuhr and the getaway car, a white 1994 Ford Taurus with a Minnesota license plate number of GFG 527. Police released no descriptions of the three who remain free or mug shots of anyone involved. [Why take so long to release the license plate number? This just happens to be the same day that the car blows up. And why not release any mugshots or descriptions?] Police won't say anything about how the five suspects were connected, nor about the motive. Sgt. Al Kramer, who leads the Violent Crime Apprehension Team, said the two marshals and four of his plainclothes officers were checking addresses for the two suspects. "We thought he would run, but he didn't," Kramer said. "It was a good catch." [What strange language to use! Good catch?!] Of the five suspects, only the woman arrested is an adult. [But later we will learn that she is actually 18.] Police stopped the car about 13 blocks from the woman's home in north Minneapolis. [But other reports said they were arrested in her home.] http://www.startribune.com/467/story/351353.html [cached]
4/04/06: Lasonya Denise Miles has a date of birth (DOB) of 10-14-1983, which would make her 22 years old. [How do the police get a specific date of birth that is wrong?] The license plate of the white 1994 Ford Taurus used in the crime is GFG-527. [Why is the license plate released to the public not until the day that the car explodes?] Police asked for the public's assistance in finding three others involved in the crime. http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/police/news/20060404Arrests.asp [cached]
4/05/06: On Monday (4/03/06), police arrested a 17-year-old boy and a 22-year-old woman [This is the 18-year-old girlfriend], with the teen believed to be the shooter. Assistant Chief Tim Dolan said they were confident the teenager pulled the trigger. Charges were pending. "We are extremely confident that the person responsible for the shooting is the 17-year-old" arrested Monday afternoon, Dolan said. Police had issued a murder warrant for a second young man, and were seeking two other juveniles suspected of involvement in the March 18 shooting. [Why are they confident that they have arrested the right person? They do not say. Also, here it says they are looking for two others, but other reports say they are looking for four others. The 1994 Ford Taurus set on fire is very strange.] http://www.startribune.com/462/story/352781.html [cached]
4/05/06: Assistant Chief Tim Dolan said they are confident the teenager (the 17-yo-boy arrested on 4/03/06) pulled the trigger. The 17-year-old arrested had been arrested out of a north Minneapolis home just days after the murder, but was released. [Arrested for what reason? How is this related to the earlier car violation? Why is this not mentioned in other accounts?] He was rearrested last night after police gathered more information. Dolan asked for the public's help in finding the car, a white 1994 Ford Taurus with Minnesota license plate number GFG 527. [So now, over two weeks later, we suddenly know the license plate number? Why ask for help the day after the car is found?] http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=122330 [cached]
4/05/06: The 1994 Ford Taurus was found late Tuesday (4/04/06) in Brooklyn Park, where police believe it had been set on fire. http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=122399 [cached]
4/05/06: "This investigation has been tremendously stressful," said Dolan. [This is before all the five suspects have been arrested.] http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=122376 [cached]
4/05/06: Car explodes. Two people taken into custody, man and woman yesterday (4/04/06). The man is related to the juvenile who has not yet been arrested. [This date is different from the other date.] http://wcco.com/local/local_story_095110451.html [cached]
4/05/06: Car exploded yesterday (4/04/06) in Brooklyn Park neighborhood, miles from murder. License plate GFG-527 matched what the police were looking for. Sounded like a big crash, then the neighbors called police. Lt. Lee Edwards: "We don't know what evidence might have been destroyed. ... This gives us one more piece of the puzzle and it puts two more people away who are involved in this murder." Woman reporter: "Police wouldn't say what the connection was between the 22-year-old woman suspect and the 33-year-old male suspect, nor Dennis would they tell us if they are directly involved in the Zebuhr murder." (Yes, this contradicts what the lieutenant just said.) Two people who were arrested are 33-yr-old man and 22-yr-old woman. Man is related to the 17-year-old who has a warrant for his arrest. These two newly arrested people will be charged with arson tomorrow, and the original 17-boy and 18-girl will be charged tomorrow as well. [Who owns the vehicle? Why are they being charged with arson unless it is someone else's vehicle or insurance fraud?] from video at http://wcco.com/local/local_story_095110451.html [additional]
4/05/06: White Ford Taurus was purposely set on fire at 10pm Wed (4/05/06) in Brooklyn Park neighborhood. While police are glad to have tracked down the getaway car, its value as far as evidence is questionable. Lieutenant Edwards called finding the car "huge" but added, "Unfortunately the car was burned so we have some problem with the evidence, we don't know what evidence might have been destroyed." Residents saw a black car speed away, and that description allowed officers to track down the car and arrest two adults inside the car, the man being related to one of the suspects in the death. As for two other teens arrested Monday (4/03/06), including the alleged triggerman, prosecutors were given another 24 hours to come up with criminal charges. The extension was granted by a Hennepin County District court judge as police continue to work the case that seems to be changing daily with new developments. [How convenient to have the evidence destroyed. How do they know this is the vehicle? Why were they able to catch this black car immediately, but not the getaway car when it happened?] http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=122403 [cached]
4/05/06: Morgan Reynolds interviewed, says that Zebuhr's death looks like an execution. http://mp3.rbnlive.com/Stadt06.html [cached -- one.mp3, two.mp3]
4/05/06: An employee at a Calhoun Square business was chased to her car at approximately 11:30 Saturday night by at least two men with a screwdriver. http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/s15336.html [cached]
4/05/06: The 18-year-old woman (who was arrested along with the 17-year-old shooter) has been identified as Lasonya Miles, of Minneapolis. Police found the burned-out Ford Taurus Tuesday night (4/04/06). http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/s15300.html [cached]
4/05/06: The 1994 Ford Taurus was found late Tuesday (4/04/06) in Brooklyn Park. Police were trying to determine if the two people arrested were linked to the murder. On Monday (4/03/06), police arrested a 17-year-old boy and a 22-year-old woman. [The age is wrong -- she is 18 -- and the date appears to be wrong; other reports say Tuesday.] http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/breaking_news/14270483.htm [cached]
4/05/06: Police are "extremely confident" they have the killer (Johnson). Police have also arrested Miles. [Later, of course, they say that she was arrested on something unrelated. So why mention it here?] Police still seeking three other suspects, including Jacobs, and they ask for public's help in finding them. Police said all this on Tuesday (4/4/06). [How could they still be looking for three suspects on Tuesday, then file a police report on Wednesday using two of the three suspects as witnesses (Witnesses B and C; see below). No fanfare about the two witnesses turning themselves in and confessing?] [partially cached]
4/06/06: The 1994 Ford Taurus was found late Tuesday (4/04/06) in Brooklyn Park, where police believe it had been set on fire. http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=122456 [cached]
4/06/06: Two Minneapolis teens were charged with first-degree murder on Thursday (4/06/06), but police still looking for Jacobs. Billy Ray Deshawn Johnson, 17, and Donte Lamar Jacobs, also 17, were charged in Hennepin County District Court with first-degree murder while committing an aggravated robbery. Prosecutors alleged that Johnson was the shooter while Jacobs was charged as his companion who drove the car and participated in the robbery. [Did the companion only drive the car, or was he also with him during the shooting?] http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=122489 [cached]
4/06/06: Details about the robbery. According to witnesses, five people were in the car: Johnson, Jacobs, juvenile male, another individual, and someone who has now become a witness. Actually there are two witnesses who were in the vehicle, so the other one must be either the juvenile male or the other individual. When shots were fired, two people got out (witness and juvenile male). Johnson and Jacobs got back into the car, and Jacobs drove off with the other person. [So the driver gets out to do the robbery? Or perhaps the driver is the witness and he runs away instead of driving away? Why would you do that?] On Tuesday (4/04/06) the police recovered the vehicle. [So how did the vehicle blow up on 4/05/06?] Police believe 5 people were involved in the incident. [But this does not match the description of the 5 people who were arrested. How does the 33-yo male fit in, or the two women?] Used Jacobs' fingerprint on cell phone to catch him; the cell phone was located in a garbage bag behind a Columbia Heights, Minn. residence. [Whose residence? Where is this? Why just one fingerprint?] http://wcco.com/topstories/local_story_096132342.html [cached]
4/06/06: Two men are charged. Police still looking for Jacobs. http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/S15374.html?cat=1 [cached]
4/06/06: Actual police report gives all the details from the Witnesses A, B, and C, the latter two claiming to have been in the white car with Jacobs and Johnson. The report was filed on 4/06/06. [The story makes no sense. Why would the driver of the getaway car get out to do the robbery? Why would the other three flee on foot, then call to be picked up? Why are there not more details?] http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/S15375.html?cat=1 [cached]
4/06/06: City officials planning to hire more police and install more security cameras to make city safer. Police believe they have the person responsible for Zebuhr's killing in custody. http://wcco.com/politics/local_story_096115453.html [cached]
4/06/06: Two teens were charged with murder. As of Thursday (4/06/06), police were still searching for Jacobs. Jacobs was originally charged last week on a warrant that was sealed to protect the investigation, said Hennepin County District Attorney Amy Klobuchar. Zebuhr died two days after being shot. [Another mistake.] http://wcco.com/minnesotawire/MN--UptownShooting-mn/resources_news_html [cached]
4/06/06: After the murder, Twin Cities blogs and discussion forums zeroed in on the likely culprits. The killers, many agreed, were Somalis. Somali description is meaningless by itself. But police deny every saying anything about Somalis and blame the press for bringing it up. The press read a non-apology saying the idea came from the police. Description of suspects was so vague as to be meaningless. http://www.startribune.com/357/story/356596.html [cached]
4/06/06: Police had been looking for a white 1994 Ford Taurus. Two people were arrested late Tuesday (4/04/06) after Brooklyn Park police found a burning car. [Other reports say it was Wednesday.] The mother handed over her purse and no one resisted, but Zebuhr was shot anyway. Minneapolis police announced Tuesday that an 18-year-old woman and a 17-year-old boy have been arrested in connection with the case and that a murder warrant was issued for a second young man. Police also were looking for two other juveniles who may have played a role in the incident. http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/local/14273407.htm [cached]
4/06/06: "These are the main perpetrators," Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar said in an interview. "Johnson was the shooter and Jacobs was the robber-driver." Johnson and Jacobs will be automatically certified to stand trial as adults. Johnson and Miles were arrested on Tuesday (4/04/06). Charges are pending against man for burning vehicle. Fingerprint was lifted from cell phone. http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/breaking_news/14280203.htm [cached]
4/06/06: Police had been looking for a white 1994 Ford Taurus. [This is news to me. They never mentioned it before.] Two people were arrested late Tuesday (4/04/06) after Brooklyn Park police found a burning car. Investigators have not made a connection between the two arrested people and the death of Zebuhr. [partially cached]
4/06/06: Summary of police report. Purse was taken off Mom's shoulder. [Story has changed: It used to be that she handed him the purse.] http://www.hennepinattorney.org/news_2.asp?NRecno=302 [cached]
4/07/06: Jacobs took the purse off the Mom's shoulder, and Johnson then shot. Johnson's sister says that there is no way that he could have done this. Johnson's girlfriend is being held on unrelated misdemeanor chargers. Photos are not being released. [What kind of a coincidence is this? Police just happen to arrest the killer's girlfriend at the same time on an unrelated matter? Why no photos, when the photo of the other murderer Holliday was released right away?] Zebuhr's mother Strong remembered it was the taller of the two men who shot the gun, hence Johnson. Police are still searching on Thursday (4/06/06) for Jacobs. [Despite the misleading reports that indicated that the perpetrators had been caught.] http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_096132342.html [cached]
4/07/06: Billy Ray D. Johnson and Donte L. Jacobs are cousins. They are suspected of robbing a couple at gunpoint at a Wells Fargo bank ATM a few hours before Zebuhr was killed, police said. [Is this the same robbery as the one by the Somalis?] Capt. Rich Stanek said they knew early on whom they were looking for in the homicide. [If that is the case, then why did they arrest Johnson on a traffic violation and let him go?] Jacobs hasn't been caught. "Our main focus was to get these guys off the street," said Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar. "We're not as much concerned about why they did this." [This is shocking! Their motive is not important?! Why be glad to get these guys off the streets, when you haven't yet gotten them off the streets -- Jacobs is still at large!] Johnson and Jacobs don't have extensive criminal histories. [Do they have any criminal history?] For some unknown reason Johnson shot Zebuhr in the head. What they still don't know is why one of the teenagers allegedly shot Zebuhr in the head during a street robbery for his mother's purse. [And the police do not care about the reason!] Later, Jacobs received a cell-phone call asking him to pick up Johnson and the others at the McDonald's in Uptown. [This behavior makes no sense.] To break the case, a little luck was necessary to recover some evidence, Stanek said. [The luck, of course, was the suspects blowing up the getaway car right in front of houses filled with people. This is not what people normally do when they want to avoid being caught.] The case moved quickly because so many people were involved, he said. Investigators sometimes worked 18-hour shifts early in the investigation. [Why do the police keep congratulating themselves on what a great job they have done? The case was not quick. It was much slower than Holliday's.] Cell phone was found in Columbia Heights neighborhood. Leads took investigators out of state. [Which state?] http://www.startribune.com/467/story/355394.html [cached]
4/07/06: Jacobs still being sought. [But he has been found already.] These are the main perpetrators. [How can they know this if they do not yet have the full picture?] Man who set fire to vehicle will be charged by 4pm today. Police found a fingerprint of Jacobs on cell phone. [A single fingerprint?] Earlier police statements suggest that at least two other juveniles might be involved. Klobuchar said a grand jury would be convened in about two weeks to consider indictments. Police believe Johnson killed Michael Zebuhr while robbing the student. [But his accomplice was the one doing the robbing, and the robbing had already occurred.] Johnson and Miles were arrested on Tuesday (4/04/06). [Inconsistent with other reports that say Monday.] http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/news/local/14282621.htm [cached]
4/07/06: One of Johnson's fingerprints was allegedly on the cell phone. [This is wrong, of course, because the other accounts say it was Jacobs'. The other problem is that fingerprint is singular. How does that happen?] http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/S15374.html?cat=1 [cached]
4/07/06: Article in Clemson's student-run newspaper (The Tiger) parrots nonsense from Minnesota papers. The title, "Police arrest suspects," will undoubtedly cause most readers to believe that the crime has been solved.
4/07/06: Police arrested Derrick L. Johnson on Tuesday (4/04/06) after they located the 1994 white Ford Taurus. Johnson was charged on Friday (4/07/07) with arson. [Whose vehicle is it? Can you be charged with arson for burning your own vehicle unless it is insurance fraud?] Police found a burning gas can. The front license plate had been torn off the car, and the rear plate was folded in as though an attempt was made to hide the number. [What?! How would this hide the number? Why not take the plate off?] A man run away from the burning car and get into a Cadillac that was driven by a blond woman. Johnson was not wearing pants, his legs were burned and one was bleeding, and his T-shirt had a burn hole in it. [Strange details to give us.] Police believe Johnson is a relative of the 17-year-old male suspect. [What kind of relative? Three days later they still do not know whether they are related?] http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_097172354.html [cached]
4/07/06: Donte L. Jacobs, who is accused of taking a purse from a woman, as another teen shot her son, had been charged in June (2005, I guess) with threatening to shoot a man who owed him money, according to a court document. The man tried to shield his children and several friends as Jacobs pointed the gun in a Hopkins parking lot, the document said. The charges against Jacobs in the Hopkins parking lot incident were dismissed when the witness recanted his statement before the case went to trial. [Why bring up an incident last summer in which the charges were dropped? It looks like a specious attempt to make it seem like he's a criminal. Also, now he took the purse from her, instead of her handing it to him.] Police are reaching out to the family. "We want this young man to have his day in court," said Ron Edwards, a member of Minneapolis' Police Community Relations Council. "We're not trying to establish if he's guilty or not. We just want him to be brought in safely." [This is about the weirdest thing I have ever heard. He makes it sound as if his goal is to help Jacobs rather than to charge him with murder. Is he saying that he does not care whether Jacobs is guilty?] Johnson's mother, Sharron Johnson, says he is scared. He hasn't been arrested or charged with any serious crimes before this one, an assertion confirmed by authorities. He had 13 unexcused absences during the first three months of the school year. [Wow, this is all they could find on him, that he missed a few days of school?!] Sharron Johnson said Derrick Johnson wasn't related to her son or anybody in her family. [Why, then, do police still think they are related?] Stanek said. "The public should be extremely afraid of him [Jacobs]," said Capt. Rich Stanek. [But no description or picture of Jacobs has been released, so how can they be afraid of him?] Zebuhr died on March 18. [Another wrong date.] http://www.startribune.com/467/story/359007.html [cached]
4/08/06: Two more Minneapolis shootings, one of which is a murder. http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=122718 [cached]
4/08/06: Two 17-year-old cousins are facing first-degree murder charges in the case. Police had one of them in custody while the other was still being sought. [Now they're cousins!] Also, a car sought in connection with the case was found burning in Brooklyn Park on Tuesday (4/04/06) night. http://www.startribune.com/462/story/359092.html [cached]
4/08/06: Police will increase presence in response to two recent high-profile murders. http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/legislature/14292652.htm [cached]
4/09/06: Police say the victim didn't try to stop the robbers and gave them no reason to shoot. http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/local/14293771.htm [cached]
4/12/06: Jacobs' family says they are not hiding him, they have not seen him recently, and they are asking him to turn himself in. His relatives have become increasingly concerned that the longer he tries to elude police, the more difficult it will become to bring him in safely. [Why would he not be safe?] Minneapolis police Capt. Rich Stanek said he is afraid for the public's safety because Jacobs is on the run and could do something irrational. [If he is afraid for the public's safety, then why has no detailed description of Jacobs, including a picture, been released?] Donisha Jacobs (his aunt) was shocked to hear that he was allegedly involved. Diane Jacobs (his grandmother) said that he was hanging around the wrong crowd, and that he was angry and didn't care about things. http://www.startribune.com/462/story/368027.html [cached]
4/13/06: Jacobs' family asks him to turn himself in. Video shows his grandmother and aunt. http://wcco.com/local/local_story_103130339.html [cached]
4/27/06: Authorities charged 33-year-old Derrick L. Johnson as an accomplice for destroying evidence in the murder investigation. [Johnson is the one whom the police caught after the "getaway" car was blown up.] Johnson is the father of Donte Lamar Jacobs, 17. [Earlier accounts said that police believed he was related to the other Johnson (Billy Ray Deshawn Johnson, the alleged killer). This is an interesting twist.] http://wcco.com/local/local_story_117172740.html [cached]
A description of Derrick L. Johnson, with mug shots, can be found on the Minnesota Most Wanted Fugitives list: http://info.doc.state.mn.us/Fugitive/individual.asp?OID=179342 (accessed: 5/1/06) [cached]
4/28/06: Derrick Lamon Johnson, 33, was charged with two felony counts: (1) being an accomplice after the fact, and (2) second-degree arson. [Again, who owns the car? How can he be charged with arson without first identifying the owner of the vehicle?] Police believe he is the man who torched the car used by the suspects. Authorities said he helped Jacobs by destroying evidence of the killing. [What type of evidence was destroyed? Wouldn't the most important evidence be the gun used in the murder? How would blowing up the car destroy the gun? Were gun remnants found in the blown-up car?] He is accused of using fire or explosives to destroy property. [Whose property? How can they not know whether fire or explosives were used?] Johnson is the third one arrested in the murder. [This fact would require the younger Johnson and Jacobs to have been arrested, but Jacobs has not been arrested because he has not been caught.] Authorities said Johnson has a "father/son" relationship with 17-year-old Donte Lamar Jacobs. [This is strange language: Are they saying that Johnson is Jacobs' father or not? Note that there is only a 16 year difference between their ages, which is not impossible but statistically rare. In California, 2004, for example, 0.2% of children were born to fathers of age 16. See http://www.dhs.ca.gov/hisp/chs/OHIR/tables/birth/dadage.htm ] http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=123837 [cached]
Other stories in which surveillance videotape of crime is shown in Minnesota news sources:
8/10/05: Robber pointed gun at face of clerk in convenience store. Incident was caught on videotape, which you can view in the on-line article. http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/s9839.html [cached]
9/27/05: Two Minnesota Vikings players are arrested at an auto store following an argument. Snapshots from the surveillance video can be viewed in the on-line article. http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/s10713.html [cached]
2/05/06: With a population of 418 people, Sanborn, Minn. has nine surveillance video cameras monitoring all four streets leading into town and preserves the recorded images for two weeks. http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_037003344.html [cached]
2/09/06: Police are asking for the public's help in identifying a man they believe robbed a convenience store using a screwdriver as a weapon. Surveillance photos show a suspect holding a screwdriver at a cashier, then reaching into a cash register. http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_040083908.html [cached]
2/25/06: Police hope to make the streets of St. Paul safer by installing closed-circuit surveillance cameras throughout the city of St. Paul. The cameras are similar to 29 installed through a Target Corp. Safe Cities grant around the Block E entertainment district in downtown Minneapolis. Minneapolis police Inspector Rob Allen said they have been effective, leading to 250 arrests since being installed 18 months ago. The most common offenses are drug-related, but the cameras have helped prosecute robberies, assaults and other crimes. http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_056183205.html [cached]
3/01/06: Police say they have identified the suspect in January's screwdriver holdup of a Minneapolis convenience store. Police said surveillance photos showed the man holding a screwdriver at the cashier, then reaching into a cash register. http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_060124153.html [cached]
3/15/06: Terrorized woman. Police finally traced many of the calls to a pay phone at Cub Foods. Surveillance cameras apparently caught Roubinek making a call and investigators arrested him at his rooming house. http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_074223956.html [cached]
4/01/06: A man and woman suspected of committing burglaries in nearly a dozen Twin Cities communities were apprehended. Surveillance video shows the couple taking a plasma TV from an Eden Prairie senior complex. They were also photographed at a pawn shop. http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_091103119.html [cached]
4/04/06: Derick Dasean Holliday, 21, was charged with the murder of Alan D. Reitter, 31, who was shot in the head by a random bullet Friday night (3/31/06) in downtown Minneapolis. Reitter died at Hennepin County Medical Center [the same place where Zebuhr died]. Mugshot of Holliday is shown in the article. Zebuhr's robbers have not been arrested. [They did a good job on this case of finding the killer quickly. Is Zebuhr's case that much harder? Why do they say that they have not been arrested when they have?] http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/s15298.html [cached]
4/05/06: Video from a parking lot security camera showing last Friday night's (3/31/06) murder of Reitter in Minneapolis was shown to reporter. http://www.startribune.com/357/story/351428.html [cached]
4/06/06: Alan Reitter killed in apparently random shooting in downtown. (His killer was caught; see above.) http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=122434 [cached]
4/07/06: Stolen paintings recovered. Surveillance video showed a man walking into the hospital after the front desk was closed, pulling Burnley's two largest and most valuable paintings off a wall and walking off. http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_097182415.html [cached]
4/10/06: Armed robbery at Lee's Superette (convenience store in Vadnais Heights), in which two men jump the counter and lunge at the clerk with a knife. Police believe they were trying to kill him and then steal his money. Clerk suffered only minor wounds. The release of the videotape came less than 24 hours after the attack. The incident was caught on videotape, and the entire video (from start to finish) can be viewed in the on-line article. [This robbery is the same as the Little Canada one below.] http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=122816 [cached]
4/10/06: Police in Vadnais Heights, Minn. are asking for the public's help in finding two people they said stabbed a store owner (Rich's Superette) during a robbery attempt Sunday (4/09/06) night. http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_100120644.html [cached]
4/11/06: Convenience store owner in Little Canada (a suburb of the Twin Cities metropolitan area) suffered stab wounds in a brazen robbery captured on surveillance video. Video showing him being attacked is shown on website. Police grabbed information from the tapes, showing what they're wearing, etc. Sheriff says, "I would be surprised if they had not done this before, but I'm also more concerned they'll do this again sometime in the next week". New announcer: "Police showed the tape quickly after the attack because of the fear that they talked about that the pair will attack again." http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/s15446.html [cached]
4/12/06: Two suspects in the Little Canada / Vadnais Heights robbery have been identified as Fernando Marcia and a juvenile. [Just one day later!] Both suspects have long criminal histories, Marcia is a local gang leader, and the suspects may flee to CA, CO, or AZ. [Lots of details given, even details that might help him to escape police.] http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/s15472.html [cached]
4/12/06: Police video of drunk driver shown. http://wcco.com/ "Caught on Tape: Drunk Bus Driver"
4/17/06: The U.S. Marshal's Office arrested a man wanted for stabbing a convenience store (Rich's Superette) clerk during a robbery attempt in Vadnais Heights, Minn. on April 9. http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_107174752.html [cached]
4/20/06: A store owner (Sam's Market) was stabbed multiple times during a robbery in South Minneapolis Tuesday, and police hope graphic images from a surveillance tape will help identify the suspects. http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_108232825.html [cached]
4/23/06: Second suspect in Vadnais Heights robbery captured. http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/news/local/14406826.htm [cached]
4/23/06: The second suspect in the stabbing of a Vadnais Heights, Minn. convenience store owner is in custody. Police say the incident was recorded by store surveillance cameras. http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_112190617.html [cached]
4/24/06: Two brothers were arrested Monday (4/24/06) for the stabbing of the owner of a convenience store (Sam's Market). The robbery occurred last week, and police shared the store surveillance video with the media last week. Picture from video is shown in news article. http://www.startribune.com/462/story/389660.html [cached]
4/24/06: Two men were arrested Monday in connection with a robbery and stabbing at a South Minneapolis convenience store, Sam's Market. http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_114121330.html [cached]
* What others are saying:
Jonesreport says it's suspicious. http://www.jonesreport.com/articles/member_of_scholars_for_911_truth_killed.html
4/01/06: Blogspot says it was hit job. http://covertoperations.blogspot.com/2006/04/update-on-michael-zebuhrs-murder.html
Another blog: http://www.team8plus.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?2590
Darryl Bardford Smith accuses Judy Wood of being involved in murder. http://www.iamthewitness.com/DarylBradfordSmith_Michael.html
Another blog: http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2006/03/department_of_c.asp
Says it looks related to 9/11: http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=4318 (article repeated at http://matbm.blogmaker.com/entry.php?u=matbm&e_id=8208 and http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/83350)
http://www.atsnn.com/story/200408.html (repeat of other blog)
Blog attempting to debunk Zebuhr was killed by conspiracy by name calling. http://rambix.blogspot.com/2006/04/zebuhr-conspiracy.html
Mentions that there might be a connection between the murder and 9/11: http://www.unknowncountry.com/news/?id=5193