Dec 5, 2007 11:11 am US/Central
Second Suspect Charged In Mpls. Bicyclist Killing
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ―
Hennepin County prosecutors have charged the man they say swung the aluminum bat that killed a 41-year-old bicyclist in September.
Jamaal B. R. Freeman, 21, of Burnsville, was ordered held on $1 million bail Tuesday after he was charged with second-degree murder in the death of Mark Loesch.
Freeman is the second man charged in the death of Loesch on Sept. 12 in south Minneapolis.
Last month, Donald Eugene Jackson, 23, of Minneapolis, was charged with second-degree murder. He also is held on $1 million bail.
Freeman was a year into a three-year probated sentence for receiving stolen property in Dakota County when he was arrested on the second-degree murder charge.
According to the affidavit filed with the charges, Jackson said he and Freeman were selling dope on the street when Loesch came up and sought to buy marijuana. Jackson said they told Loesch they would do it, but they would have to go to a secluded spot.
The affidavit said Jackson told police they intended to rob Loesch all along. Once around the corner, Freeman struck Loesch with the bat several times. Loesch wasn't carrying his wallet, but the men took the $40 in his pocket.
Lt. Amelia Huffman, the head of the homicide unit, has said detectives weren't sure about Jackson's account about the drugs. He has a criminal history that includes violent felonies.
On Tuesday, she said detectives still don't know why Loesch stopped where he did. The evidence indicates he wasn't riding the bike when the assault took place, she said.
"The specific facts of how those people interacted and what they said are known only to them, and one of them is dead," she said.
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