By PATRICK AFTOORA-ORSAGOS and JULIE CARR SMYTH, Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio officer who shot and killed a pregnant Black mother in a supermarket parking lot after she was accused of shoplifting has been acquitted of all charges, including murder.

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Blendon Township police officer Connor Grubb could have faced up to life in prison.

The Blendon Township police officer had pleaded not guilty to murder, involuntary manslaughter and felonious assault in the death of 21-year-old Ta’Kiya Young. Bodycam recordings showed Young refusing to exit her car and then turning her steering wheel to the right, before her car began slowly rolling forward against the body of Grubb, who fired one shot into her chest through the windshield.

Franklin County Common Pleas Judge David Young, no relation to Ta’Kiya, dropped four of 10 counts relating to the death of Young’s unborn daughter, agreeing with defense attorneys that prosecutors failed to present proof that Grubb knew Young was pregnant when he shot her.

Jurors were shown the bodycam video on the first day of the two-week trial, and heard testimony from a use-of-force expert, an accident reconstructionist, a police policy expert and Sgt. Erick Moynihan, the officer who with Grubb had ordered Young out of her car.

They never heard from Grubb, whose side of the story was contained in a written statement read into the record by a special agent for the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. He attended the trial, but prosecutors were unable to question him directly.

FILE – Blendon Township police officer Connor Grubb listens while appearing via video from jail for his arraignment hearing, Aug. 14, 2024, at the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas in Columbus. (AP Photo/David Dermer, File)

Grubb and Moynihan had approached Young’s parked car on Aug. 24, 2023, about a report that she was suspected of stealing alcohol from a Kroger store in the Columbus suburb. She partially lowered her window and protested as both officers cursed at her and yelled at her to get out. Bodycam video showed Grubb had his left hand on the car’s hood while pointing his gun at her with his right. Young could be heard asking them, “Are you going to shoot me?”

Then, she put on a turn signal and her car rolled slowly forward toward Grubb, who fired a single bullet into her chest, the recording showed.

In the statement, Grubb said he had positioned himself in front of Young’s vehicle to provide backup and to protect other people in the parking lot. He said he drew his gun after he heard Young fail to comply with Moynihan’s commands. When she her car moved toward him, he said, he felt the vehicle hit his legs and shins and begin to lift his body off the ground as he shot.

Moments later, after the car came to a stop against the building, they broke the driver’s side window. Police said they tried to save her life, but she was mortally wounded. Young and her unborn daughter were pronounced dead at a hospital.

A full-time officer with the township since 2019, Grubb was placed on paid administrative leave after the shooting.

Young had two young sons, ages 8 and 5, who are being raised by Ta’Kiya’s grandmother, Nadine Young. Attorney Sean Walton, representing her family, told the AP shortly after the shooting that Young had not stolen anything. He said his law firm found a witness who saw Young put down bottles of alcohol as she left the grocery store.

“The bottles were left in the store,” Walton said. “So when she’s in her car denying that, that’s accurate. She did not commit any theft, and so these officers were not even within their right to place her under arrest, let alone take her life.”

Your daily look at what happened across the East Metro high school sports scene last night.

Girls basketball and boys hockey got underway, creating a busy night alongside a bevy of girls hockey results.

Here’s a peek at what happened across the area:

Boys hockey

Stillwater 3, Centennial 2 (OT):  Luca Frascone scored 75 seconds into overtime to deliver a season-opening win for the Ponies. Gavin Bajda tallied 32 saves for the Ponies, who also got goals from Tyson Miller and Tate Batchelor.

Gavin Cunningham scored twice for Centennial.

Blaine 5, Woodbury 1: Cooper Bayer scored twice for the Bengals, while Tanner Ferdig, Wilson Guse, Grady Bautch and Sam Coleman each had two helpers.

Jack Oleson scored the Royals’ lone goal, while Michael Pietruszewski stopped 40 of the 45 shots he faced.

Girls basketball

Rosemount 91, Champlin Park 75: Amisha Ramlall scored 33 points to pace a high-octane Rosemount offense that posted 45 points in the first half and 46 in the second.

Amisha’s sister, Ashna, scored 21 points for the Irish.

Reese Hagenbart had 33 points for Champlin Park.

Totino-Grace 76, St. Croix Lutheran 49: The Crusaders fell Thursday, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort from Callie Oakland. The Northern Iowa commit tallied 31 points and 21 rebounds in the defeat.

Girls hockey

Park 4, St. Paul/Two Rivers 0: Addie Corkish netted a hat trick to move the Wolfpack to 2-1 on the season, while Gabriella Stepka logged a 19-save shutout.

Apple Valley 6, Shakopee 0: Riley Ambuehl had a hat trick while Makayla Gore tallied two goals and three assists as the Eagles improved to 3-0 in South Suburban Conference play.

Brinley Gretz had a goal and three assists. Apple Valley out-shot Shakopee 35-11.

Have a result, stat, milestone or photo for “Last night in high school sports?” Email dmizutani@pioneerpress.com or jfrederick@pioneerpress.com anytime between the conclusion of the event and 7 a.m. the following morning to be considered for inclusion.

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The Twins made a series of roster moves on Friday morning, hours before the deadline to tender arbitration-eligible players a contract for the 2026 season, first acquiring catcher Alex Jackson, who was a candidate to be non-tendered by the Baltimore Orioles, in exchange for minor league utilityman Payton Eeles.

To make room on the 40-man roster for Jackson, the Twins designated outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr. for assignment. Keirsey spent much of the 2025 season in the majors but played sparingly, primarily appearing in games as a defensive replacement or pinch runner.

Jackson, once the sixth overall pick in the 2014 draft, has played parts of six seasons in the majors for five different teams. Last year, he played in 36 games for the Orioles, hitting .220 with a .763 OPS with five home runs and eight RBIs.

The Twins have employed a catching split for the past three seasons between Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vázquez. But with Vázquez now a free agent, Jeffers is likely to step into a bigger role and Jackson serves as a potential backup. Eeles, 26, was signed out of independent ball and has yet to reach the majors after spending much of the past two seasons at Triple-A.

Additionally, the Twins agreed to terms with reliever Justin Topa, who was arbitration-eligible.

They have until 7 p.m. to tender contracts to the rest of their arb-eligible players or non-tender them, which would make them free agents. That list includes Jeffers, Bailey Ober, Joe Ryan, Cole Sands, Royce Lewis and Trevor Larnach. Larnach, who is due a projected $4.7 million per MLB Trade Rumors, is the biggest question mark of the group.

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ST. LOUIS (AP) — An officer at St. Louis’ busiest airport fatally shot a man who wielded a knife early Friday morning outside the doors of a terminal, police said. No one else was injured.

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The shooting at St. Louis Lambert International Airport happened around 1 a.m., St. Louis County Police spokesperson Vera Clay said.

The area is located near the light rail line that transports travelers to the terminal and isn’t behind a security checkpoint, according to maps of the airport posted on its website.

The rail line to Terminal 1 was closed for about three hours, with shuttles taking people from other drop-off points, but was reopened later Friday morning. The airport remained open, Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge, the airport director, said in statement.

Clay said officers had noticed the man, who was not identified, in an area where he should not have been and refused to leave.

Clay said the man showed officers a knife when they tried to get him to move. Officers used Tasers but the man continued to advance toward the officers and one of them fired their gun, fatally wounding the man, Clay said.

“We don’t believe this was an individual trying to catch an airplane or coming into town,” Clay said.

She said part of the investigation will be focused on determining why the person was there and needed to be removed.

The two officers were part of the airport’s police department and had six months and one year of service on the force respectively, as well as earlier law enforcement experience, St. Louis County police said in an emailed statement.