Spit, discarded cigars help Minneapolis PD crack light rail murder case: Charges

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Spit on a light rail platform, discarded cigars and a Metro Transit card helped Minneapolis police investigators track down the murder suspect in a Green Line shooting last month, according to a new criminal complaint.

Deadly Green Line shooting in Minneapolis

What we know:

Jaquan Darrian Edwards, 30, is charged with murder for the deadly shooting on the Green Line light rail on Oct. 3.

The backstory:

The shooting was captured on surveillance video, according to the criminal complaint.

Police say the video shows Edwards boarding the Green Line at U.S. Bank Stadium shortly before 9 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3. The victim boarded at the East Bank station on the University of Minnesota campus and sat across from Edwards.

Within a couple of stops, the two men appeared to get into a confrontation, with the complaint noting that "some dialogue was exchanged."

Shortly after the train left Stadium Village, police say Edwards fired three shots, striking the victim.

Local perspective:

After the shooting, the train continued east into St. Paul, where officers responded at the Westgate station. The victim was found with a gunshot wound to the neck. Despite efforts by first responders, the victim died at the scene.

The criminal complaint states the gunman had already gotten off at the Prospect Park stop in Minneapolis. The investigation was eventually turned over to Minneapolis police.

Big picture view:

The shooting came hours after the Gophers earned a major win over the Michigan Wolverines that came with Big Noon Kickoff visiting the campus.

How police say they identified Edwards

Dig deeper:

The criminal complaint details a rigorous investigation that led Minneapolis police to identify Edwards as the gunman.

First, officers say they were able to obtain DNA from the gunman because they noticed he was "spitting voluminously" onto the light rail platform prior to boarding on surveillance video. When police checked the platform, they were able to find samples of the spittle that officers collected for testing.

Police also noticed prior to the Oct. 3 shooting that the gunman swiped his Metro Transit "To-Go" card to ride the bus. Tracking his moments on the bus, police found he had visited a HyVee and Advance Auto Parts in Maplewood.

Speaking with security at HyVee, officers said security recognized him as an employee at the auto parts store. Speaking with employees at Advance Auto Parts, police said the employees identified the man in surveillance photos as Edwards.

The match:

According to the criminal complaint, police were finally able to get a DNA match by going through Edwards' trash.

The criminal complaint states that Minneapolis police spoke with White Bear Lake officers who had stopped Edwards earlier that year for a traffic violation.

During the stop, officer said they witnessed Edwards, who was driving a vehicle registered to his mother, smoking a wood-tipped cigar.

At his mother's home, where police said Edwards was possibly living, they collected trash including several wood-tipped cigars. Police say DNA pulled from those cigars matched the spittle on the light rail platform.

What's next:

Edwards was charged last week after the reported DNA match. Jail records show he was arrested on Monday and is being held in Hennepin County Jail.

He is due to make his first court appearance in the murder case on Monday afternoon.

The Source: This story uses past FOX 9 reporting and information from a criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County Court.