A Minnesota man is accused of murdering three people after wearing a UPS uniform to gain access to their residence for a robbery attempt that turned deadly, prosecutors said in a criminal complaint filed Monday.
Alonzo Mingo, 37, faces three counts of second degree murder committed without premeditation but with intent, according to the complaint filed in Anoka County, Minnesota, district court. It adds a “modifier” to the case — an assertion that a firearm was used — that can increase a defendant’s sentence if they are found guilty.
Prosecutors say security camera video and audio from inside and outside the victims’ residence in Coon Rapids, a suburb of Minneapolis, supports their claim Mingo drove his Nissan Altima to the home shortly after noon on Friday, went to the front door dressed as a UPS delivery worker, was let inside, and demanded money at gunpoint.
He was accompanied by one other person dressed in a UPS uniform and a third suspect, all of whom went into the residence, prosecutors said. One carried a box, they said. UPS later told NBC affiliate KARE of the Twin Cities that Mingo had been employed as a seasonal worker through mid-January.
The complaint alleges that a man who appears to be the defendant is captured by a bedroom camera shooting a woman later identified by the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office as Shannon Patricia Jungwirth, 42. Also killed were her son, Jorge Alexander Reyes-Jungwirth, 20, and her husband, Mario Alberto Trejo Estrada, 39, the office said in a statement Monday.
Two children younger than five survived and may have witnessed the violence, prosecutors said.
“Video captures Defendant Mingo and the female return to the bedroom, where Defendant Mingo shoots the female in the head at point blank range, near the entryway,” the complaint said. “The older child can be seen entering the bedroom shortly thereafter, crying hysterically.”
In its initial statement on the killings, the sheriff’s office said deputies responded to the home after someone dialed 911 but left the line open without speaking. Operators heard “sounds of a disturbance in the background,” the office said.
“Upon arrival, law enforcement located two males and one female deceased inside of the residence,” it said.
Authorities quickly issued a be-on-the-lookout bulletin for the Nissan, and it was stopped, along with Mingo, later that afternoon, according to the complaint.
Investigators found a UPS uniform and box in the vehicle, prosecutors said, and prints on the box matched Mingo’s. Prosecutors said the defendant told authorities he had been home all day.
He was jailed without bail pending Monday’s filing, according to court and jail records. It’s not clear what became of the others who authorities allege were with him during the violence. No other suspects have been named.
The Coon Rapids Police Department, Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office, and Anoka County Sheriff’s Office continued to investigate, and on Monday they asked for the public’s help with any possible clues.
A potential motive for the killings was not revealed.
The Star Tribune on Monday reported that it obtained an affidavit filed in support of a search warrant connected to the investigation.
The affidavit alleges that Estrada had been selling cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine, resulting in cash earnings he sent to Mexico. The publication reported that authorities searched a storage unit affiliated with Estrada later on Friday and turned up psilocybin mushrooms, marijuana, methamphetamine and an unspecified white powder.
The complaint said each murder count has the sentencing potential of 3 to 40 years if Mingo is successfully prosecuted.
It wasn’t clear if Mingo had retained counsel for the case. The county public defender’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Gemma DiCasimirro contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
