Officer involved in Herron murder case shootout: 'Something I'll never forget'

Prior Lake American

A Scott County District courtroom heard testimony Wednesday from a police officer involved in a shootout with a suspect the night of James Herron's death in November 2016.

Derrick Zechariah Smith, 30, of Minneapolis, is one of four suspects charged in the 2016 fatal shooting of 42-year-old Herron, a member of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community. Smith's bench trial kicked off Tuesday.

Eden Prairie police officer Brandon Carlston testified Wednesday he was the officer to ultimately stop the suspects' vehicle, a silver Buick, after it allegedly left the scene of the crime, Herron's Prior Lake home, on tribal land on Nov. 23, 2016.

Carlston said the pursuit eventually led to a foot chase, where Smith shot at the officer and then the officer shot back.

"It's something I'll never forget, sir, " Carlston said during his testimony.

Carlston joined the pursuit shortly after a police maneuver to pop the Buick's tires were deployed. The Eden Prairie officer then pulled up beside the vehicle to perform a Pursuit Intervention Technique maneuver, which is where the squad car pushes the other car in a way that causes the suspect car to spin out.

Once the car was stopped, three suspects fled on foot. Carlston said he waited for a K9 officer to pursue another suspect who ran east and then he went after Smith, who went north.

Carlston said he followed Smith through a strip mall parking lot and testified that Smith said he was going to shoot the officer and then turned around and fired a shot. Carlston said he returned a shot and Smith went down.

As he approached, Carlston said Smith raised his gun and shot again at the officer from the ground. Carlston shot at Smith again before hiding behind a vehicle in the parking lot and waiting for other officers to join him.

Carlston testified that he then checked himself for any injuries and said that due to adrenaline, he might not have noticed if he had been shot. He did not participate in any more investigations that night since he had fired his weapon, which is a protocol for police officers.

Squad car video of the Pursuit Intervention Technique maneuver and the subsequent foot chase were shown in court. While Carlston and the suspect eventually run off screen, audio from Carlston's radio was still captured.

Carlston told the defense attorney he was sure Smith shot at him.

Smith is one of four people charged in connection to Herron's death. The others include Tyrel Lamar Patterson, a 29-year-old from Minneapolis, Jonte Glenn Robinson, a 27-year-old from Brooklyn Park and 42-year-old Brandy Lee Jaques from Minneapolis have already pleaded guilty to related murder charges.

On Wednesday, the court also heard from:

• Edina police officer Beau Schoenhard, who rode with Smith to the hospital after Smith was shot. Schoenhard said he noticed two gunshot wounds in Smith's left arm and right leg.

• Mystic Lake Casino Hotel Surveillance Operations Manager Matthew Tighe who led the court through surveillance footage of the suspects' vehicle from 1:20 a.m. to 5:40 a.m. the night of the murder. The footage showed the vehicle's path around both Mystic Lake Casino Hotel and Little Six Casino before making its way into the residential area of the tribal land where Herron lived.

• Hennepin County Sheriff's Office crime scene investigators Matthew Rucker and Sarah Peck. Rucker investigated the officer-involved shooting, which is a separate crime that's being investigated by Hennepin County. Rucker said he mapped the scene of the parking lot and processed the Buick, where he found and recorded miscellaneous items including cellphones, money, rubber gloves, masks, what appeared to be weed, an Xbox and more. Peck investigated the scene of the officer-involved shooting and found and recorded multiple firearms from the scene.

• Hennepin County Sheriff's Office firearms examiner Richard Boelter, who tested the firearms found at the crime scene and found they were functional. Boelter also noted the condition of the firearms. Boelter also tested rounds and compared them to evidence found at the scenes and found they matched.

Scott County Judge Christian Wilton is presiding over the trial.