Ruling removes evidence from prosecution plan in case against Derrick Thompson
Prosecutors are facing a major roadblock in the high-profile murder case against a former state lawmaker's son.
According to a criminal complaint, a driver sped off of Interstate 35W at the Lake Street exit in June 2023, ran a red light and slammed into a car, killing all five people inside. The driver was arrested nearby and later identified as Derrick Thompson, officials said.
Thompson was found guilty of one count of possessing fentanyl with intent to distribute, one count of possessing a firearm as a felon and one count of carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota.
Next week, Thompson will face state charges of criminal vehicular homicide and third-degree murder. But a legal win for the defense was handed down Monday, just one week before the state trial begins.
In a 19-page opinion, the Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld the district court's "decision to deny the state's motion to admit evidence of the California incident."
In 2018, Thompson was convicted of fleeing from police in Santa Barbara at high speeds before striking a pedestrian and taking off. The complaint in that case states a woman was left with life-changing injuries.
State prosecutors were hoping to show a similarity between the California crash and the Lake Street crash.
In 2020, Thompson pleaded guilty to three felony charges and was sentenced to eight years in prison. He was released after three years.
That same year, investigators say surveillance video from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport shows Thompson renting the SUV involved in the Minneapolis crash, less than a half hour before the crash.
In a statement, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office says, "We're confident that the admissible evidence will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Thompson is guilty."
The jury trial is set to begin May 27.
Thompson is facing several counts of third-degree murder and criminal vehicular homicide for each of the five young women killed in the crash.
