Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis police won’t reopen 2004 flower shop murder after exoneration
MPD won’t reopen flower shop killing case
The Minneapolis Police Department has told FOX 9 they won’t reopen a murder case they thought was solved two decades ago following the exoneration of Marvin Haynes.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – The Minneapolis Police Department will not reopen a murder case they thought was solved two decades ago.
Randy Sherer was gunned down inside his family’s flower shop in May 2004.
Marvin Haynes was convicted in the case, but Haynes was exonerated late last year because of unconstitutional police work.
Immediately following the exoneration, MPD said it would review the case for possible next steps – looking at the availability of potential witnesses and the status of any evidence.
But in a statement to FOX 9 this week, the department now says the case will remain closed “pending any new information or leads.”
“They need to find the person that did that,” Ryan Donley, Sherer’s great nephew told FOX 9’s Paul Blume. “If there is no justice for Randy, then obviously, now it is looking like there was no justice for Marvin, you know? So, it is sad for both families, to be honest.”
Donley spoke to Blume at his metro-area home while flipping through a weathered scrapbook holding some of his most cherished memories from his family’s, long-time, Minneapolis business, Jerry’s Flower Shop.
“He is one of the nicest guys on the northside from what I hear from everybody,” Donley said while pointing at photos of his great uncle. “And that is when he was shot, walking up to the front, trying to protect his sister at the time.”
Sadly for Donley and the rest of his family, Jerry’s Flower Shop closed after Sherer was shot to death while working there with his sister on Sunday morning, May 16, 2004.
“I just recall getting a phone call from my mom,” remembered Donley. “Everybody was crying and tears. And they said that my uncle got shot.”
Like nearly everyone in his family, Donley worked at Jerry’s.
Donley said, “My aunt, my uncles, all the nephews and cousins, we all worked there. We all sold flowers on the corner of north Minneapolis every holiday.”
Donley, who was in his late teens at the time of the murder, was a pallbearer at Sherer’s funeral. He has fond memories of his great uncle.
“Every time I go up to visit, you know, he would give me a dollar out of his pocket, give me change out of his pocket. He was always nice to me,” said Donley.
Two decades later, Donley watched Haynes, the convicted gunman, walk out of prison in December after Haynes was exonerated by the courts, his life-sentence vacated.
“It brings back memories, and frustrations, and anger,” admitted Donley.
Haynes was just 16 years old when he was arrested. Investigators never had any DNA evidence, fingerprints, surveillance images or murder weapon connecting Haynes to the deadly shooting.
“Everybody wanted justice,” recalled Donley. “At the time, I thought it was a set case, you know, and then turned out like it is not a set case all this time later.
Donley was disappointed to hear this week MPD will not re-open the case following an investigative review.
He told Blume that he remains hopeful someone out there might talk or know something to provide a definitive answer as to what happened in his family’s flower shop 20 years ago.
Marvin Haynes exonerated press conference [RAW]
A judge has vacated the first-degree murder conviction for Marvin Haynes, who was sentenced to life in prison for a 2004 murder at a Minneapolis flower shop. Hennepin County Judge William Koch on Monday morning signed an order vacating Haynes’ conviction in the slaying of Randy Harry Sherer at Jerry’s Flower Shop. Haynes, who was 16 at the time of the 2004 crime, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2005.
The scene of the crash at 26th Avenue North and Emerson Avenue North in Minneapolis. (FOX 9)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A Minneapolis woman was sentenced for her role in a deadly crash that killed two women and injured two other people in December 2024.
READ MORE: Minneapolis woman charged in fatal high-speed crash faces additional charges
Woman sentenced in fatal Minneapolis crash
Big picture view:
Prosecutors say Teniki Steward drove a Buick Enclave into a bus shelter and a Ford Explorer after speeding through a red light.
Both of the women in the Ford Explorer died in the crash. They were identified as 53-year-old Ester Jean Fulks and 57-year-old Rose Elaine Reece.
During the crash, the Ford Explorer went off the road, injuring a 17-year-old boy who was waiting for a school bus.
The passenger in Steward’s vehicle also suffered injuries.
Minneapolis police said that Steward was also injured in the crash.
Steward pleaded guilty to multiple murder charges.
What they’re saying:
During the sentencing, the daughter of one of the victims had a statement read on her behalf:
“There’s nothing that can truly prepare you for the moment your entire world is taken from you. Losing my mom has left a pain in my heart that words will never be able to explain.”
What’s next:
Minnesota law requires that Steward serves at least two-thirds of her sentence, a bit under eight-and-a-half years, in prison.
Fatal Emerson and 26th crash
The backstory:
According to the criminal complaint, through surveillance videos from the scene of the crash and witnesses, investigators learned that Steward, driving the Buick Enclave, had been driving at a high rate of speed northbound on Emerson Avenue North.
Before the fatal crash, Steward sped through the intersection of Emerson Avenue North and Broadway Avenue North, running a red light and nearly causing a crash, the charges said.
Steward then continued to speed northbound down Emerson Avenue North, and ran another red light at 26th Avenue North, hitting the Ford Explorer, which was traveling eastbound, according to the complaint.
The Ford Explorer had been at the intersection of Emerson and 26th on a green light.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty shared the following statement:
“This was an egregious act that took Rose and Esther’s lives and injured a child waiting to go to school at a bus stop. Ms. Steward was driving at extremely dangerous speeds on city streets and narrowly avoided multiple collisions before the incident occurred. Third-degree murder charges are appropriate to hold her accountable and protect our community.”
The Source: This story uses information gathered from an Olmsted County court appearance and previous FOX 9 reporting.
A motorcyclist is dead after an early morning crash in Minneapolis Friday morning.
The Minnesota State Patrol said that at 1:20 a.m., a Suzuki Motorcycle going north on I-35W at Johnson Street hit the left side of the median guard rail.
The motorcycle continued north for about another quarter mile before coming to a rest on the right-hand side.
State Patrol said the rider came to rest on the left shoulder. He was later identified as 21-year-old Andrew James Neuberger.
ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – The Rochester Spartans boys volleyball team played its second game on consecutive nights. The Spartans beat Minneapolis Camden 3-0.
Rochester’s next game will be Tuesday, April 21, at St. Anthony Village at 7:00 p.m.
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