Jury selection underway in trial of man charged with killing 5 friends in Minneapolis crash
Jury selection is underway on Tuesday in the trial of the son of a former Minnesota lawmaker who's accused of killing five young women in a 2023 crash in Minneapolis.
Derrick Thompson, 29, is charged in Hennepin County with 15 felonies in connection to the deadly crash on the night of June 16, 2023, including multiple counts of third-degree murder and criminal vehicular homicide.
The crash killed five friends:
- Salma Abdikadir, 20
- Sabiriin Ali, 17
- Sahra Gesaade, 20
- Sagal Hersi, 19
- Siham Odhowa, 19
According to the criminal complaint, a state trooper spotted Thompson on Interstate 35W driving erratically and at speeds approaching 100 mph.
The trooper, who said they didn't have their emergency lights activated, said Thompson then cut over several lanes of traffic and exited at high speed onto East Lake Street.
Surveillance cameras captured the SUV speeding through a red light and crashing into a Honda Civic that was carrying the friends. Thompson then fled the SUV on foot and into an alley, the criminal complaint states.
Police officers soon found him, drenched in sweat and blood, sitting on a curb outside a fast food restaurant.
"The challenges are going to be finding people who aren't familiar with the case," explained criminal defense attorney Eric Nelson. "Significant community impact within the Somali community, too, so finding a diverse jury of people who can be open-minded and fair and neutral."
Nelson, who is not associated with the case, says five counts of third-degree homicide are the most serious charges Thompson is facing.
"Third-degree murder is what we call depraved mind or depraved heart murder," Nelson said. "It's essentially committing an act with just absolutely no regard for anybody, for the lives of someone."
Thompson's lawyer says they're going with an "alternative perpetrator" defense. But prosecutors say Thompson admitted to being the driver at the hospital after the crash, and a female associate of Thompson's told investigators he told her he was driving.
Court of Appeals rules against use of 2018 crash evidence
The trial kicks off just days after the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that prosecutors can't admit evidence related to Thompson's conviction in a separate crash case in California in 2018.
In that case, Thompson struck a pedestrian while fleeing Ventura police at high speeds. He then fled on foot, with officers later finding 17 pounds of marijuana and $20,000 in cash inside his vehicle. The victim in that crash spent 20 days in a coma after suffering life-altering injuries.
Thompson was sentenced to eight years in a prison but was released early after training and working as a firefighter in California's Conservation Camps program. His driver's license was reinstated about three months before the deadly Minneapolis crash.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty released a statement following the Court of Appeals' decision, saying she's "confident the admissible evidence will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Thompson is guilty."
Thompson convicted of federal drug, gun crimes
Thompson was convicted in federal court in October 2024 of several drug-related crimes in connection to the crash, including possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute, being a felon in illegal possession of a firearm and carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime.
Court documents in that case showed Thompson had rented the SUV at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport less than an hour before the crash.
Inside the vehicle, police found a loaded handgun with an extended magazine; more than 2,000 fentanyl pills; cocaine; MDMA and other paraphernalia.
Thompson was sentenced to eight years in this case.
Thompson rejected plea deal before murder charges added
In August 2024, Thompson rejected a proposed plea deal from the Hennepin County Attorney's Office and insisted on a criminal trial.
Weeks later, the office added several third-degree murder charges to his case due to his "lengthy record of dangerous driving, the trail of devastation he's left in his wake, and his conduct in this case."
Thompson is the son of former Minnesota State Rep. John Thompson, a close friend of Philando Castile who served one scandal-laden term representing St. Paul's District 67A before losing reelection in a landslide.