Blanyon Toe Davies did the right thing for the mother of Devon Michael Adams, prosecutors say.
Earlier this month, a jury found Davies’ co-defendant, Johnson Kenny Sirleaf, guilty of first-degree murder for fatally shooting Adams outside a Cub Foods store in Fridley just over a year ago. Sirleaf, 34, of Plymouth, was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Prosecutors say Sirleaf shot Adams, 27, of Hugo, after he saw Sirleaf assaulting his girlfriend in the parking lot and intervened. They had never met before the fatal encounter.
Johnson Kenny Sirleaf, left, and Blanyon Toe Davies (Courtesy of the Anoka County sheriff’s office)
A week after the shooting, the Anoka County Attorney’s Office charged Sirleaf with second-degree murder. Davies, who picked up Sirleaf after the shooting, was charged with felony aiding an offender. He entered a straight guilty plea to the charge in September.
At Davies’ sentencing hearing Wednesday, prosecutor Amy Reed-Hall said Sirleaf’s conviction would not have happened had it not been for Davies. He came forward and told law enforcement and prosecutors that he saw everything, even directing them to the murder weapon, which he had given to Sirleaf a few weeks before the killing.
He then gave his eyewitness testimony in Sirleaf’s grand jury indictment and during his murder trial.
“Mr. Davies testified with no promises from us,” Reed-Hall said. “And he came in and he said in his direct (testimony) that it was the right thing to do for Devon’s mom.”
She told Judge Dyanna Street that Davies has had no violations since he’s been on conditional release awaiting sentencing, and that prosecution is recommending a downward departure to probation.
Street agreed, staying a 23-month prison sentence in favor of five years of probation.
“What you did took so much courage, and you did it for all the right reasons,” Street said of his cooperation with the state. “It was honorable, and I want to thank you for that.”
Shooter drove to nearby apartment
Adams was shot in the chest in the store’s parking lot at Interstate 694 and University Avenue shortly after 11 a.m. March 9, 2023.
Surveillance video showed a burgundy 2013 Buick Encore SUV drive straight to the store’s parking lot and pull in front of Adams’ truck, preventing it from leaving.
A witness reported hearing arguing and a “pop,” then seeing a man fall to the ground and an SUV fleeing the area. The witness said there was one person in the SUV.
Devon Michael Adams (Courtesy of GoFundMe)
Law enforcement canvassed the area and located the SUV at an apartment building parking lot in the 6000 block of Main Street, just north of the Cub Foods. Video surveillance showed the SUV leaving the shooting and heading straight to the apartment parking lot.
Video surveillance from the apartment building showed the SUV pull into the lot a few minutes after the shooting. After about 20 minutes, Davies pulled up in his white Ford F‐250 and picked up the SUV driver, who was later identified as Sirleaf.
Cellphone records show Davies and Sirleaf had been in contact right before and after the shooting. Sirleaf’s phone records put him at the shooting, the charges said.
Detectives also learned that Sirleaf had been staying in a room at the Extended Stay that was rented by Davies.
‘I am so grateful’
Adams’ mother, Kim Adams, told the court Wednesday that her son was her best friend and confidant.
“Losing a child from murder changes your perspective of the world and mankind, ” she said.
Her son was on the autism spectrum, she said, and “immediately reacted when he witnessed someone in danger. When I was told what he did, it didn’t surprise me at all. I said, ‘Of course he did.’ ”
She said she hopes that Davies “creates a new chapter.”
Davies, 30, of Brooklyn Park, told the court, while fighting back tears, that he “never would have imagined” that Sirleaf would use his gun to kill anyone.
“Everybody suffered for no reason,” he said. “There was no reason for this, and I couldn’t let (Devon’s mother) suffer.”
Davies said he was working as a music producer and that he saw talent in Sirleaf.
“But he’s a coward,” he said. “All that tough stuff is an act. It’s just an act.”
After Davies left the courtroom with his attorney, he walked over to Adams’ mother — and they hugged.
“Thank you,” she told him. “I am so grateful. You are a brave person.”
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