Minneapolis, MN
Margot Lewis makes first court appearance for murder charges, search warrants detail crime scene in Minneapolis
HENNEPIN COUNTY, Minn. (KTTC) – The Iowa woman accused of murdering Liara Tsai, 35, of Minneapolis, made her first court appearance Monday in Hennepin County.
Margot Lewis faces two charges of second-degree murder in Hennepin County and one charge for interfering with a dead body in Olmsted County.
On Saturday, June 22, Lewis crashed the car she was driving on I-90 near Eyota. Good Samaritans found Lewis sitting in the grass median and noticed a body wrapped up in the back seat. The car’s registration led back to Tsai’s Minneapolis apartment where investigators found a “violent scene”.
During Lewis’s first appearance in Hennepin County, a judge set her bail at $1.5 million with conditions. Meaning if Lewis posts bail, she has to follow a set of rules laid out by the court.
New search warrants obtained by KTTC detail items taken by investigators from Tsai’s Minneapolis apartment. Most items were taken from the bed, which according to Lewis’s criminal complaint, was saturated with blood.
According to the search warrant, investigators also pulled blood-stained shoes from the garbage. Lewis’s criminal complaint says blood was also located in the apartment’s bathroom.
Lewis is tentatively scheduled for another court hearing in Olmsted County on July 5 and Hennepin County on July 30.
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MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey signed a new ordinance that carries a ban on assault weapons but won’t take effect unless there are major changes to state law.
Minneapolis gun ban ordinance signed
What we know:
The Minneapolis City Council approved the ordinance during its meeting last week.
The firearm regulations ordinance includes a ban on assault weapons, ghost guns, binary triggers, and high-capacity magazines. The ordinance also includes safe storage provisions for firearms.
Big picture view:
Many of the provisions in the law won’t go into effect unless there is a change in state law. Currently, Minnesota law prevents municipalities from enacting gun regulations.
Minnesota law only allows cities to bar the discharge of firearms within city limits and adopt regulations that are identical to state laws. Any regulations that go beyond state law are voided, according to state statute.
Local perspective:
Action on the gun ordinance was spurred by last year’s shooting at Annunciation Church and School. Two students were killed while attending morning mass at the church and more than two dozen students and parishioners were hurt in the barrage of gunfire.
Last week, parents of Annunciation students spoke out in support of the ordinance at a public hearing.
Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus threatens lawsuit
The other side:
Last year, St. Paul passed a similar law. The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus filed a lawsuit shortly after the ordinance was signed. Arguments were heard last month on the case and a judge has set a trial for next year.
In a statement last week, the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus said it was evaluating its legal options in Minneapolis.
Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus Chair Bryan Strawser said:
“The City of Minneapolis is attempting to make a political statement with an ordinance it has no legal authority to enact. Minnesota law clearly preempts the entire field of firearms regulation, and local governments cannot simply ignore state statute because they dislike the policy outcome.
“If the City Council moves forward with this unlawful ordinance, we will evaluate every available legal option to challenge it, just as we did in Saint Paul.
“The law is not optional, even for Minneapolis.”
A man was hurt in a shooting in south Minneapolis late Tuesday night, according to police.
A report of shots fired brought officers to the 2600 block of Third Avenue South around 9:50 p.m., the Minneapolis Police Department said. They found evidence of gunfire and began investigating.
Later, a man with survivable gunshot wounds showed up at Hennepin Healthcare.
No one has been arrested.
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