Trial unfolds in 2016 Prior Lake murder case

Prior Lake American

A Minneapolis man is on trial for his alleged involvement in the murder of 42-year-old Prior Lake resident and Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community member James Herron in November 2016.

Derrick Zecheriah Smith, 30, is one of four suspects charged in the fatal shooting of Herron. He faces two counts of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree murder, four counts of first-degree aggravated robbery and one count of first-degree burglary.

Others charged in connection to Herron’s murder include 29-year-old Tyrel Lamar Patterson of Minneapolis, who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder with intent and was sentenced to life in prison and will be eligible for parole in 30 years. Jonte Glenn Robinson, 27, of Brooklyn Park pleaded guilty to second-degree murder with intent and Brandy Lee Jaques, 42, of Minneapolis pleaded guilty to second-degree murder with intent, not premeditated. Jaques and Robinson are scheduled to be sentenced next month.

A friend of Herron’s, Jasmine Ristamaki, testified Thursday in Scott County District Court, that she was in the house on the night of the murder and had come to Herron’s house in the afternoon of Nov. 22, 2016 after she had been at Mystic Lake Casino Hotel. Scott County Judge Christian Wilton is presiding over the case.

Ristamaki said several visitors were at Herron’s house that night, some she knew and some she didn’t, in addition to Herron’s live-in girlfriend Semone Watson. Ristamaki said Watson was not happy that she was at the house. The group made spaghetti for dinner.

Mystic Lake Casino Hotel Surveillance Operations Manager Matthew Tighe led the court through the path of the suspects’ car as it went through the reservation on the night of the murder from about 1:20 to 5:30 a.m.

According to court documents, witnesses and police said the suspects came in through a sliding glass door and gathered some of the people in the house in the living room. Ristamaki said a man in a red, black and white mask told her to get on the ground and asked her if she thought it was a “f-cking game.”

She said she was dragged by her hair into the living room and other people in the house were brought in and told to lay down next to her. Ristamaki said the suspects searched the others and found a gun and slapped her left butt cheek but did not take anything from her. She said the suspects asked Watson where Herron was and that Watson told them Herron was sleeping in his room.

“I heard footsteps going down the hallway and I heard a gunshot and James was screaming, ‘OK, OK!’” Ristmaki said.

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension found blood stains on the pillows and TV and a bullet in a pillow in the master bedroom where Herron was sleeping, forensic scientist Lindsey Garfield testified.

Ristamaki said she kept her eyes closed the whole time in order to be able to tell the suspects she wouldn’t recognize them in the hopes they wouldn’t shoot her. She said they brought Herron down the hallway and put him next to her head.

“I heard James screaming ‘no, please, no please,’ and a man asking him where the money was and the drugs were and that he knew he picked up today because he was watching him,” Ristamaki said. “The man said he came for something, he didn’t come for nothing.”

Ristamaki said she heard another gunshot and a man asked again where the money and drugs were before Watson told Herron to “just give him the money.” Ristamaki said she heard the man count down from five, another gunshot and then Herron make a snoring sound. She said the suspects left and she ran into the garage and wedged herself under her car before she heard someone come back and say, “where you at, b-tch? I’m going to start shooting, b-tch.”

Ristamaki testified she came out of the garage with her hands up and eyes closed. She said she told the suspects her eyes were closed and she hadn’t seen them.

“I thought that would keep me alive,” Ristamaki said. “I was afraid I would never see my kids again. That I would die.”

She said a man grabbed her hair and dragged her to the stairway before putting a gun to her head and asking where the titles were. She said she told him she was just a visitor and didn’t know anything.

“I heard all kinds of footsteps and then I heard a white male say, ‘What’s up with all the gunshots? I thought nobody was going to get hurt,’” she said. “Nobody responded to that.”

After the suspects left, Ristamaki said she hid in the corner of the garage under plywood until police arrived. She said she came out and saw Herron on the floor, leaned up against a chaise recliner.

“I told him to stay alive and just keep breathing,” she said.

A crystalline substance was found in the carpet, Garfield said.

Four 911 calls were made and two Prior Lake police officers who were responding to a nearby alarm arrived on scene quickly. Former Prior Lake police officer Nicholas Elenz said he went inside the house and heard “gargling” in the living room, where he found Herron. He said he began to administer initial first aid.

“I believed him to be alive,” Elenz said. “He was breathing but he was not responsive to my voice or to touch or to any stimulus. He had a wound on his wrist and hand area and a lot of blood coming down through his hair.”

Elenz said he tried to staunch the bleeding and locate the other wound, which he initially believed to be in Herron’s chest. Once other emergency responders arrived, they cut the shirt and jeans off of Herron and located the other wound at the back of his head.

The other Prior Lake police officer who responded, Christopher Schaefer, said he began to pursue a silver Buick he saw fleeing the home as police arrived. According to court documents, the Buick headed north on County Road 83, where a Shakopee police officer joined the pursuit. The vehicle got onto Highway 169 north and headed into Bloomington and then Edina. Eden Prairie police officer Brandon Carlston testified Wednesday he was able to ultimately stop the suspects’ vehicle. He said he joined the pursuit shortly after a police maneuver to pop the Buick’s tires was deployed.

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 ran after Smith through a strip mall parking lot and testified 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.

Carlston said as he approached, Smith raised his gun and shot again at the officer from the ground. Carlston shot Smith again before hiding behind a vehicle in the parking lot and waiting for other officers to join him. He did not participate in any more investigations that night since he had fired his weapon, which is a protocol for police officers.

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

“It’s something I’ll never forget, sir,” he said.

Edina police officer Beau Schoenhard said he traveled with Smith to the hospital after he was shot and he saw two gunshot wounds, one in Smith’s left arm and one in his right leg.

The car and house were processed by multiple agencies in the days following the murder. Authorities found a substance that looked and smelled like marijuana, masks and a backpack containing zip ties, black shoes, gloves, a screwdriver and a flashlight. Blood, bullets and shell casings were a few of the items recovered from Herron’s home.

Herron had a lengthy criminal history, which included multiple charges for drug possession, assault and domestic abuse.

In January, Smith was sentenced to life in prison in Hennepin County District Court with the possibility of parole for first-degree intentional murder during an aggravated robbery and second-degree intentional murder for the October 2016 shooting death of 31-year-old Richard Ambers in Minneapolis.

Jaques and Patterson also face charges in the death of Ambers. Patterson was charged with first-degree murder charges in the case and Jaques has pleaded guilty to charges of aiding an offender.