St. Paul man charged in Minneapolis crash that killed 2, injured child following carjacking

A St. Paul man faces state and federal charges in a Thursday morning carjacking and high-speed chase in Minneapolis that ended when he crashed into a sedan, killing two 25-year-old women and seriously injuring a 6-year-old boy.

Troy Mike Payton, 45, carried out a violent crime spree before running a red light at Penn Avenue and Olson Memorial Highway while pursued by Minneapolis police and t-boning a Ford Fusion driven by Marisa Ardys Casebolt of Minneapolis, according to authorities. Casebolt and her front-seat passenger, Liberty Borg, also of Minneapolis, died at the scene.

The boy, who is the son of one of the women, is being treated at Hennepin County Medical Center with injuries that include a traumatic brain injury and two broken legs, authorities said.

Payton is charged in Hennepin County District Court with two counts of fleeing a police officer resulting in death and one count of fleeing a police officer resulting in great bodily harm. More charges are expected as the investigation plays out, according to prosecutors.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office of Minnesota on Friday charged Payton, who also goes by the name Edward Tiki Arrington, with carjacking and firing a gun during a crime of violence. A statement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Minnesota said carjacking “resulting in death is a death penalty-eligible crime” upon conviction.

Payton is hospitalized with injuries from the crash and has a court appearance on the state charges Monday. An attorney for him is not listed in either court case.

Court records show Payton has an extensive criminal history that includes state convictions for assaults with firearms, illegal possession of a firearm and two convictions for fleeing police in a motor vehicle in 2000 and 2006. He has a 2009 federal conviction for possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

“Two young women should be alive today,” Acting U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Joseph Thompson said in a Friday statement. “Instead, their lives were cut short by a senseless crime committed by a career criminal.”

According to the charges, Payton’s crime spree before the double-fatal crash was caught on surveillance video. Around 8 a.m., he drove a Ford Explorer SUV recklessly toward Lake Street — speeding, swerving into oncoming traffic and driving on the sidewalk. He drove through a red light at the Lake Street and Fourth Avenue intersection, crashing into a sedan.

Payton got out of his SUV, ran toward an Infiniti SUV stopped at the red light and allegedly pointed a gun at the driver. He tried to open the door, but the driver sped away.

Payton then ran toward a Volkswagen Passat and pointed the gun at the driver, the charges allege. He ordered the driver out of her car at gunpoint, got inside and drove the car against traffic to his SUV, where he retrieved his two dogs that were inside. As a woman driving a Jeep SUV approached the intersection, Payton pointed the gun at her. She ducked and sped away.

Payton then ran up to a woman walking on Lake Street and allegedly pointed the gun at her before getting back into the Passat. As he drove away, he fired a shot out of the car toward a work van.

About 8:15 a.m., Minneapolis police sent out a citywide alert on the Volkswagen. Officers saw Payton driving the Passat in north Minneapolis. They tried to pull him over, but he fled and drove toward downtown Minneapolis. “Recognizing that (Payton) was an immediate threat to public safety and to human life, officers followed,” the federal criminal complaint says.

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Surveillance cameras showed Payton speeding through the intersection of Penn Avenue and Olson Memorial Boulevard, running a red light without stopping and crashing into Casebolt’s Ford Focus.

The pursuit by officers lasted approximately three minutes, according to Minneapolis police.

“This is an outcome we never want — a devastating incident with very heartbreaking and permanent consequences,” Police Chief Brian O’Hara said in a Thursday statement.

Violent carjackings have “permeated Minneapolis for far too long,” FBI Minneapolis Special Agent in Charge Alvin Winston Sr. said Friday in the statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He said the federal charges show the commitment by the FBI, its law enforcement partners and the attorney’s office to reduce violent crime in Minnesota.

“The FBI will bring every resource available to ensure a safe community where its residents can thrive,” he continued. “Our thoughts are with the victims and their families.”