Police called him a “Good Samaritan,” but Minneapolis detectives were still investigating Friday the case of a man who shot and killed an armed robber he chased down the night before.
The man who fired the fatal shot had a permit for his handgun and told police he used the weapon after the fleeing robber turned and confronted him behind a restaurant.
Police spokesman Sgt. William Palmer said the department was leaning toward classifying the shooting as self-defense.
“However, decisions on charging are left up to the county attorney’s office. And since there’s a death, it might even be taken to a grand jury,” he said.
Palmer would not release the name of the gunman, who was not arrested, or the 53-year-old woman who was robbed.
The dead man was identified as Darren Lamont Evanovich, 23, of Minneapolis, the Hennepin County medical examiner said. He died of multiple gunshot wounds. Evanovich had a previous conviction for robbery in 2009.
Hennepin County Attorney Michael Freeman said police had not brought the results of their investigation to his prosecutors so they can determine whether charges should be filed.
“The question in this case is, did the good Samaritan act in self-defense when the punk pulled out his gun?” Freeman said. “We don’t know that yet.”
But a firearms trainer said that, based on the initial police narrative of events, he had concerns over whether the shooting could be justified under the law.
Erik Pakieser, a military veteran who has trained police and civilians in the use of firearms and teaches Minnesota gun-permit classes, said state law and the courts generally look at four elements to determine whether a case is self-defense:
— Whether the person was a “reluctant participant” and took steps to avoid the conflict.
— Whether the person had a reasonable fear of immediate death or bodily harm.
— Whether the person was faced with deadly force.
— Whether retreat was impractical.
“The two issues I see are reluctant participation and retreat. If he chased the guy, he didn’t retreat,” said Pakieser, who has taught courses for the American Association of Certified Firearms Instructors.
Palmer said that just after 9:45 p.m. Thursday, police got the first of two 911 calls, saying a woman had been robbed at gunpoint and pistol-whipped in the parking lot of the Cub supermarket in the 2800 block of 26th Avenue South.
The second call said a man had been shot behind the nearby Super Grand Buffet.
When police arrived at the scene, a man said he had chased the robber after witnessing the assault outside the Cub, Palmer said. The spokesman said the man told police he then shot the robber “during a confrontation” behind the restaurant.
“He was very cooperative with us. He was waiting for us when we arrived, immediately identified himself and gave a preliminary statement about what had happened,” Palmer said.
“I think he did what I’ve heard they’re instructed to do (in gun-permit classes). He took the gun, he unloaded it, secured it and told officers where to find it.”
Police found a handgun near Evanovich’s body. It was believed to be the one used in the robbery.
The state’s Good Samaritan Law, passed in 1994, says someone at the scene of an emergency “who knows that another person is exposed to or has suffered grave physical harm shall, to the extent that the person can do so without danger or peril to self or others, give reasonable assistance to the exposed person.”
The law says “reasonable assistance” may include getting or attempting to get aid from law enforcement or medical personnel.
Palmer said the man had a permit to carry the handgun.
A 2003 state law allows people to carry handguns with proper training and a permit. Jill Oliviera, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said that since the law took effect, there have been four instances in which citizens were deemed to have been justified in their use of deadly force.
Among them was a 2010 incident in which a bouncer at a Minneapolis nightclub shot and killed a knife-wielding man who had attacked him. The man had been kicked out of the bar earlier.
Pakieser, who teaches up to 10 classes a year for people seeking a gun permit, said he cautions his students to weigh a variety of risks before deciding whether the use of their weapon is justified.
“I would never encourage one of my students to get themselves involved in another person’s fight,” he said. “Even if they’re coming to the defense of an innocent person, I always tell my students that the actions they are about to take are going to have significant consequences. They could get shot or killed, there could be potential criminal liability, potential civil liability. You should weigh those consequences against not acting.
“There’s certainly nothing in the law that says you can’t whip out a phone and call 911,” he said.
“This guy chose a different course of action,” Pakieser said of the man in Thursday’s shooting. “It’s an interesting case, and it’ll be interesting to see how it turns out. Myself and a lot of other people are watching this.”
David Hanners can be reached at 612-338-6516.
