Jurors convict man of triple murder at Minneapolis homeless encampment

Paul Walsh, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Dec 23, 2025

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MINNEAPOLIS — A man has been convicted of killing three people at a Minneapolis homeless encampment and remains accused of shooting another man at a sober living facility the next day before being shot and arrested by St. Paul police.

Earl Bennett, 41, was found guilty on Dec. 22 in Hennepin County District Court on three counts of second-degree murder in connection with the killings on Oct. 27, 2024, in the 4400 block of Snelling Avenue near the railroad tracks and Hiawatha Avenue.

Bennett remains jailed without bail ahead of sentencing, which is scheduled for Jan. 16.

“This was a callous act of extreme violence that took three people from their community and from their loved ones,” read a statement from County Attorney Mary Moriarty.

Killed were Samantha Jo Moss, 35, of St. Louis Park, Christopher Martell Washington, 38, of Fridley, and Louis Mitchell Lemons Jr., 32, of Brooklyn Center.

The jury also convicted Bennett of illegal gun possession. His lengthy criminal history in Minnesota includes felony convictions for fleeing police, assaulting police, escaping custody and drug possession.

The triple murder came in the midst of a relentless string of violence at homeless encampments in Minneapolis and was the second fatal shooting at a South Side homeless encampment that weekend.

Deven Leonard Caston, 31, no known address, and two others were critically wounded on Oct. 26, 2024, at an encampment near E. 21st Street and 15th Avenue S. No arrests have been announced in that case.

According to court documents:

Officers arrived at the encampment and found three victims. Moss survived for several days at the hospital before dying.

Witnesses and surveillance video showed Bennett arriving at the scene wearing a balaclava. Witnesses said he asked for “Jigga,” which was Washington’s nickname. Washington let Bennett inside the tent where he stayed for 10 to 15 minutes. There was a string of gunshots, a pause and more gunfire before Bennett left the tent, “got onto his electric bike and went south along the railroad tracks,” the charges read.

Police obtained surveillance video from a nearby gas station that showed a man wearing similar clothes to the suspect, riding an electronic bike with his mask pulled down, exposing his face. When Bennett was arrested by St. Paul police, he was found carrying a 9-millimeter handgun that was a match to shell casings found at the triple homicide.

The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office charged Bennett with illegal weapon possession and second-degree assault stemming from his clash with St. Paul police. The charges say Bennett “told police to shoot him” and that the handgun he was holding was not loaded.

Bennett is also charged in Hennepin County District Court with attempted first-degree murder in connection with the shooting at a sober house in the 3500 block of Columbus Avenue S. in Minneapolis. That gunfire occurred about 2½ hours before he was shot by St. Paul police.

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