Derrick Thompson found guilty of possessing a firearm in crash that killed 5 people

On Friday, Derrick John Thompson of Brooklyn Park was found guilty of the following federal charges:
• Possession with intent to distribute fentanyl
• Illegal possession of a firearm as a felon
• Carrying a firearm during or in connection with a drug trafficking crime

The verdict came after a trial that began earlier this week. Court documents show jurors received the case just after 4 p.m. Thursday and finished deliberating less than an hour later. They then reconvened at 8:30 a.m. on Friday.

In the federal complaint, officials say the amount of drugs found in Thompson’s vehicle after the crash exceeds the “user-used amount” and is consistent with the distribution and sale of drugs. Additionally, Thompson is prohibited from carrying a firearm because he has a prior felony conviction.

Thompson was charged in Decemberr after prosecutors filed a complaint for these allegations six months earlier. In 2015, he was convicted of fifth-degree drug possession and also pleaded guilty to numerous charges related to a 2018 California traffic accident that seriously injured a woman.

At the state level, Thompson faces 10 counts of vehicular homicide. Hennepin County Prosecutor Mary Moriarty previously said her office “will seek separate sentencing for each victim if Thompson is convicted.”

According to court records, a Minnesota State Trooper saw a Cadillac Escalade SUV traveling north in the far left lane of Interstate 35W at 150 km/h. The officer reported the Cadillac was weaving in and out of traffic lanes. Before the officer could initiate a traffic stop, the Cadillac crossed all four lanes and exited Lake Street in Minneapolis.

The Cadillac then ran a red light at the intersection of Lake Street and Second Avenue South before hitting a car with five young women inside. They were later identified as Sabiriin Ali, Sahra Gessade, Salma Abdikadir, Sagal Hersi and Siham Adam.

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office says Thompson, the driver of the Cadillac, fled the crash but was later found at a nearby Taco Bell with a broken hip and a cut to his head. When asked how he was injured, Thompson told officers it was an old cut and that he had fallen earlier that evening.

At the scene, Minneapolis police officers found a receipt from Hertz Rental Car stating that Thompson was the renter of the vehicle. The witness later provided law enforcement with video of the accident, which shows Thompson approaching the witness and asking for a ride. A second witness who witnessed the crash identified Thompson in the lineup as the driver of the Cadillac, saying his identification was “100 percent positive.”

After the crash, officers searched Thompson’s rental car and found a loaded Glock handgun with an extended magazine, as well as baggies containing more than 2,100 fentanyl pills, 14 grams of fentanyl powder, 13 MDMA pills and 35 grams of cocaine, federal prosecutors say.

Court records show Thompson had rented the vehicle 24 minutes before the crash.

Minneapolis police too confirmed by 5 EYE NEWS that Thompson is the son of former state representative John Thompson.

“The Derrick Thompson case has always been a difficult one” – Jack Rice, a former prosecutor and current criminal defense attorney who has no connection to the cases, said of the complexity of having both the state and federal case stem from the same event.

“He could be facing decades of life,” Rice told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS of Thompson’s upcoming prison sentence.

However, it is unclear when that will happen because no date has been set for the federal ruling.

Rice predicts one thing: The state won’t move forward until Thompson is sentenced in the federal case, which could include postponing future trial dates, including Thompson’s next scheduled appearance in early November.

“He’s in custody and he’s not going anywhere because he wants to see what the feds will sentence him. “The federal ruling could have a huge impact on the state case,” Rice said. “We’re still in a strange situation where we don’t know how it’s all going to play out.”

Jeff Storms, an attorney representing the victim’s families, provided the following statement:

“The families are grateful for the excellent work of federal prosecutors and investigative teams that led to these convictions. While this was an important milestone, it is only one step in the pursuit of justice and accountability for the senseless killing of these beautiful and promising young women. “The families now look forward to District Attorneys continuing to seek justice for these murder charges at the state level.”