Derrick Thompson guilty on all federal charges in 2023 high-speed crash that killed five women | The mighty 790 KFGO

Derrick Thompson (Hennepin County Jail)

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (KFGO-WCCO) – After less than a week of testimony, a jury in St. Paul finds Derrick Thompson guilty of all federal charges in a 2023 high-speed crash that killed five young Somali women in Minneapolis.

The federal court trial focused on Thompson’s illegal possession of drugs and weapons.

Thompson still faces a separate state trial on murder and vehicular manslaughter charges.

As for the state charges, Hennepin County Prosecutor Mary Moriarty announced in September that she was adding third-degree murder charges to his case. Thompson has already been charged with 10 counts of vehicular manslaughter in the case.

He is accused of driving 150 miles per hour on a 35-watt engine in June 2023. Thompson was caught passing a state trooper, getting out on Lake Street, running a red light and hitting the victim’s vehicle at high speed.

While responding to the crash, police found a Glock 40-caliber semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine and “significant amounts” of fentanyl in his car, leading to a federal conviction.

Salma Mohamed Abdikadir, Sahra Liban Gesaade, Sagal Burhaan Hersi, Siham Adan Odhowa and Sabiriin Mohamoud Ali died in the crash. The next day, the women were running errands together before a friend’s wedding.