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A “career criminal” is facing federal charges in Minnesota after he allegedly went on an armed carjacking spree Thursday morning that ended when he slammed a vehicle into another car.
Prosecutors said the crash killed two women in their twenties and seriously injured a 6-year-old boy.
Edward Tiki Arrington, 45, also known as Troy Mike Payton, attempted multiple carjackings and was successful in one, prosecutors said.
He allegedly took control of a Black Volkswagen Passat at gunpoint and sped off against traffic through North Minneapolis, triggering a police pursuit at around 8 a.m., the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota announced Friday.
At one point, officers attempted to pull Arrington over, but he fled, driving toward downtown Minneapolis.
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That’s when he sped through the intersection of Penn Avenue and Olson Memorial Boulevard, running a red light without stopping, authorities said. As he did so, Arrington crashed at full speed into a blue Ford Focus sedan, which was driving lawfully through the intersection.
The collision killed Marisa Ardys Casebolt and Liberty Borg, both 25-year-old women from Minneapolis, according to Fox 9 Minneapolis.
The 6-year-old child was in the back seat and sustained bilateral femur fractures and a traumatic brain injury, prosecutors said. One of the women killed was the child’s mother.
“Two young women should be alive today. Instead, their lives were cut short by a senseless crime committed by a career criminal,” said acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson. “They deserved better. We all deserve better. I am weary of this endless violence. Minnesota deserves peace. We will keep fighting to restore it.”
After initially carjacking the Passat, Arrington allegedly returned to the SUV that he was initially driving that morning, transferred his two dogs into the Passat and then pointed his gun at the driver of the black Jeep, who was able to accelerate away. Arrington then targeted a pedestrian walking on a sidewalk, running up to her and pointing his gun at her.
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Arrington then grabbed her hands and demanded to know where her guns were, but the pedestrian said she didn’t have a gun. And he then released her before running back to the carjacked Passat. He allegedly sped off and fired a shot out of the vehicle.
Arrington, who changed his name in 2015, has a long and extensive criminal history that includes state convictions for assault and gun offenses and a 2009 federal conviction for possession with intent to distribute cocaine, prosecutors said.
Arrington has been charged federally with one count of carjacking and one count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. He faces a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison and up to a maximum of life in prison if convicted. Carjacking resulting in death is a death penalty-eligible crime.
He is also charged in Hennepin County District Court with three counts of fleeing a police officer, all felonies.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara condemned the rampage and said the repeat offender endangered the public.
“This violent suspect had an extensive criminal history and showed a complete disregard for the value of human life,” O’Hara said. “His reckless and violent actions claimed the lives of innocent people and put countless others at risk. We are grateful for the partnership with the United States Attorney’s Office as we all work to ensure that he is held fully accountable and that justice is pursued for the victims and their families to the fullest extent of the law.”
A GoFundMe page for Casebolt says she leaves behind a partner and two children, a 2-year-old and a 9-month-old.
“Marisa was a loving mother and her babies were the most important things to her in the world, and now they have to learn to navigate the world without her,” the post says.
On Tuesday, Borg posted happy photos on Facebook of her son’s first day of first grade.
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