Crime, Law and Justice

Man charged in crash during Minneapolis police pursuit that killed two, injured child

A man is seen holding a gun in a surveillance camera image
Federal justice officials said this image from surveillance video shows 45-year-old Edward Tiki Arrington -- who authorities said also uses the name Troy Mike Payton -- pointing a gun at a driver along Lake Street in Minneapolis on Thursday. Authorities allege Arrington then carjacked another vehicle, fled from police and crashed into a car -- killing two women.
U.S. Department of Justice

A St. Paul man faces state and federal charges in connection with a crash during a police pursuit in Minneapolis on Thursday morning that left two women dead and a child injured.

U.S. Department of Justice officials said 45-year-old Edward Tiki Arrington — who authorities said also uses the name Troy Mike Payton — faces a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison if convicted on the federal charges. And they noted that “carjacking resulting in death is a death penalty-eligible crime.”

Arrington also faces three felony counts in state court in Hennepin County, with additional charges possible.

“Two young women should be alive today. Instead, their lives were cut short by a senseless crime committed by a career criminal,” Acting U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Joseph Thompson said in a news release. “They deserved better. We all deserve better. I am weary of this endless violence. Minnesota deserves peace. We will keep fighting to restore it.”

The State Patrol identified the women who died as Marisa Casebolt and Liberty Borg, both 25 years old and from Minneapolis. Court filings state that a 6-year-old boy in their vehicle — the son of one of the women — was hospitalized with fractures to the femur and a traumatic brain injury.

“This tragic loss of life was entirely preventable,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a news release. “Two women with their entire lives ahead of them are gone, and a young child is in the hospital with serious injuries. They were simply going about their lives on a Thursday morning and deserved to make it home safely.”

According to state and federal court filings:

Authorities started receiving 911 calls around 8 a.m. Thursday, reporting a person with a gun near East Lake Street and Fourth Avenue South in Minneapolis. Callers said a man — allegedly Arrington — had been driving an SUV into oncoming traffic and over sidewalks along Lake Street, and later crashed.

Arrington then allegedly left the SUV and pointed a gun at another driver, who fled. He then allegedly carjacked a Volkswagen Passat — and pointed a gun at two other people while transferring several dogs from the crashed SUV into the stolen Volkswagen.

Court filings allege Arrington fired a gun at a passing vehicle while fleeing. Minneapolis police officers later located the stolen Volkswagen and activated their lights and sirens in an attempt to pull the driver over, but Arrington allegedly fled. 

Just after 8:30 a.m., he allegedly ran a red light at the intersection of Highway 55 / Olson Memorial Highway and Penn Avenue, crashing into the victims’ car “at full speed.”

Casebolt and Borg died at the scene. The 6-year-old was hospitalized at HCMC.

Authorities said they recovered a firearm from the Volkswagen, along with a discharged cartridge.

Federal justice officials said Arrington “has a long and extensive criminal history that includes state convictions for assault and firearms offenses and a 2009 federal conviction for possession with intent to distribute cocaine.”

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said Arrington — who was also injured in the crash — remained hospitalized Friday, and was in the custody of the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office on $4 million bail.

His first court appearance on the state charges is scheduled for Monday.