Nov 5, 2007 6:03 pm US/Central
Police: Drug Dealer Charged In Bicyclist's Killing
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ―
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According to the criminal complaint, Donald Eugene Jackson admitted they were selling drugs on the corner of 38th and Chicago Avenues when they saw Loesch and decided to rob him.
Hennepin County
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Mark Loesch, 41, a computer specialist from Minneapolis, was found on the 3700 block of Elliot Avenue South on Sept. 13. (File)
CBS
A 23-year-old Minneapolis man was arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the death of a Minneapolis bicyclist.
On Sept. 13, 40-year-old Mark Loesch left his house for a late night bike ride. The next day, a boy on his way to school found Loesch beaten up in a yard in South Minneapolis.
Police said Donald Eugene Jackson and a friend were trying to rob Loesch.
According to the criminal complaint, Jackson admitted they were selling drugs on the corner of 38th and Chicago Avenues when they saw Loesch and decided to rob him. Jackson told investigators his friend hit Loesch with a bat three times before removing $40 from his pants pocket.
Police said the friend, already in jail on another case, denied any involvement with the killing.
In the days after Loesch died, hundreds of people gathered to bring attention to what they thought was a random crime.
On Monday, police said that might not be the case.
"The information that we received from the drug dealers was that this was a drug transaction," said Minneapolis Police Lt. Amelia Huffman.
Loesch's family doesn't buy that story. They said investigators told them there was no hard evidence Loesch was ever out to buy drugs. Toxicology reports found no drugs in his system.
"The first thing that comes to mind is a public relations idea. It sounds better. The people of Minneapolis can sleep better if they know it's just a drug addict," said Mark's father-in-law, David Barnes.
Barnes said this is "a terrible thing" for his family.
"That's not my understanding from knowing Mark. No one in the family believes that that's what happened," he said. "This story they were just standing on the street with the baseball bat and told him to come around the corner. That's so unbelievable."
Huffman said she hopes the drug dealing accusation doesn't take attention away from what was a senseless crime.
"It doesn't matter why Mark Loesch was at 37th and Elliot that night. He didn't deserve to die and this was a tragic crime that impacted the neighborhood, the community and his family and has left pain for all of these people," she said.
Investigators said they were tipped off to Jackson after he told friends he was nervous he'd be arrested for robbing and beating a man on a bicycle.
He was released from prison last July. He served three years after pleading guilty to beating up a pizza delivery man. That case happened just a few blocks from where Loesch was killed.
Loesch, a father of four, worked as an IT consultant and his employer and loved ones contributed money toward the reward fund. Friends said they thought Loesch was riding to a friend's house when he was attacked.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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