A jury has found an Apple Valley man guilty of unintentional murder after prosecutors said he set up a Bloomington marijuana deal and then hit and dragged the seller with his SUV while speeding off with the drug.
Lamont Eugene Williams Jr., 22, was convicted Friday in Hennepin County District Court of second-degree unintentional murder in connection with the hit-and-run killing of 21-year-old Alexif Loeza Galvan near his home on Bloomington’s east side on March 6.
Alexif Loeza Galvan (Courtesy of GoFundMe)
Williams, who posted bond five days later and was released from custody, is jailed ahead of his sentencing, which is scheduled for Feb. 24.
Galvan died of blunt force trauma at Hennepin County Medical Center. His injuries included a brain bleed, skull fracture, broken collarbone, rib fractures and cuts and bruising on the lower back and elsewhere consistent with road rash, according to the criminal complaint.
Police were called to the 8300 block of 11th Avenue about 8:45 p.m. on a report of the man lying in the street with broken bones and difficulty breathing. Officers found Galvan on the ground near a snowbank, gasping for breath. He was pronounced dead at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.
Lamont Eugene Williams Jr. (Courtesy of the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office)
One of Galvan’s family members told officers that Galvan had told him that “Monty,” who was later identified as Williams, had contacted him and that he agreed to sell marijuana to Williams, the complaint said.
Galvan’s mother reported she was sitting on the couch when he told her he was going outside to sell something. About two minutes later, she heard yelling. She looked outside and saw him leaning into the passenger side of a small, dark-colored SUV. He appeared to be halfway in the vehicle.
She said she could see Galvan and someone inside the SUV pulling a backpack back and forth. As this was happening, the SUV accelerated and she shouted to her other children. They went outside and found Galvan lying in the street a few houses from their house.
Williams was arrested the next day near his home; he’d been driving a grey Jeep Renegade registered to his mother, the complaint said. Officers found in the SUV a 9mm handgun on the front passenger seat and a black Coach backpack with plastic bags of marijuana that totaled about 264 grams, or more than 9 ounces.
A search of Williams’ phone showed the two men exchanged messages through Facebook about Galvan selling him “smoke.” Galvan sent Williams his home address.
Williams wrote to Galvan at 8:31 p.m., “Here.” Four minutes later, Williams wrote, “I’m in this Jeep.” Location data of Williams’ cellphone showed it moved east from the area of Galvan’s home at 8:37 p.m. Six minutes later, Williams messaged him: “My fault gang I had to.”
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