Minneapolis murder suspect should have been sent to prison just days prior

MINNEAPOLIS – A multi-time felon now charged in the June shooting homicide of Taleen Tanna in Minneapolis had two recent convictions that should have put him in prison, including a gun crime.

Instead, Laundelle Jackson, 34, received stayed prison sentences from Minnesota judges, leaving him free, in the latest case, just days before Tanna’s murder.

Tanna, 42, was shot in a drive-by shooting before 10 a.m. on Tuesday June 14, 2022, while she sat inside a recreational vehicle on the 1300 block of Girard Avenue North. Tanna suffered gunshot wounds to her head and neck and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Tanna’s boyfriend, who was inside the RV with her at the time of the shooting, named Jackson as the shooter. The boyfriend, referred to as MM in the criminal complaint, told police that Jackson had stabbed him a week prior. Police reviewed case files that indicated police had responded to a report of a stabbing in Minneapolis. Upon arrival, police found Jackson and MM unresponsive on the floor of a residence. MM had been stabbed in the chest and Jackson had wounds to his face. Jackson said in a statement that he and MM were longtime acquaintances, and that MM had suddenly attacked him for no reason. Jackson said MM had a knife and he was able to wrestle it away from MM.

Taleen Rochelle Tanna, undated (Facebook)

On the day of the shooting, MM and witnesses told police that a white Impala with rear-end damage had pulled up to the RV and that’s when shots were fired. Police later found an Impala with rear-end damage near a residence on Irving Avenue North where Jackson was reported to be living.

Police eventually spoke to a witness who said she sometimes stays at the residence with Jackson. The witness told police she’d been told about the fight between Jackson and MM, and that Jackson had subsequently bragged about stabbing MM and discussed killing MM. Jackson then discussed acquiring a firearm, the complaint states.

Jackson later told police he’d been inside the Impala at the time of the shooting, but that someone else in the vehicle fired the shots.

Jackson was charged on Monday with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of attempted second-degree murder, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Hennepin County Jail records show Jackson was taken into custody by the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office late Tuesday afternoon.

Criminal history

Court records show Jackson is a predatory offender with a lengthy criminal history of over twenty convictions, including numerous felonies.

At least two recent convictions should have landed Jackson in prison, unable to commit further crimes.

However, just twelve days before Tanna’s murder, Jackson was sentenced in Mille Lacs County Court on a felony charge of fleeing police in a motor vehicle and was sentenced to 22 months in prison. Instead of sending Jackson to prison, Judge Mark J. Herzing in a downward departure stayed the 22-month prison sentence. Jackson was instead given credit for 133 days already spent in jail and was placed on probation for a term of three years.

The departure was granted despite the fact that Jackson was on probation for a 2020 conviction on felon in possession of a firearm — another felony sentence that was previously stayed.

Instead of serving a five-year prison sentence for the gun crime, Hennepin County Judge Paul Scoggin stayed Jackson’s felony sentence, even though Jackson already had at least six prior felony convictions at that time. Jackson was essentially sentenced to time already served in jail and was placed on probation for a term of three years. Court records show Jackson had four probation violations following the gun conviction, yet the stayed sentence was never revoked.

In May 2022, Jackson was charged in Hennepin County with another felony drug charge. Court records show he was released from custody with no bail required by Judge Sarah S. West.

Jackson remains in custody, according to jail records, but does not have a first hearing date set on the murder charge at this time.

Editor’s note: This article first appeared at Alpha News.

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