Moorhead Woman Pleads Guilty in Fatal Drive-By Case
CLAY COUNTY, MN ( trfnews.i234.me ) — A Moorhead woman who fled the city with her boyfriend after a fatal drive-by shooting last spring has pleaded guilty in Clay County District Court.
According to court records, 32-year-old Abby Fredrickson pleaded guilty Thursday, October 16, to one felony count of aiding an offender after the fact. In exchange for her plea, prosecutors agreed to dismiss three additional charges, including aiding an intentional murder.
Fredrickson admitted she was in a relationship with 35-year-old Jerome Thomas III, the man accused of killing 39-year-old James Hamilton during a drive-by shooting on April 13. Police say Hamilton was shot multiple times — including once in the head — while standing in a driveway at 2701 14th Street South in Moorhead. A child with Hamilton at the time identified Thomas as the shooter.
Officers reported that Thomas fled the scene in a mint-green SUV, and Hamilton died before emergency crews arrived. Fredrickson said she joined Thomas as he left Moorhead, realizing about ten minutes outside of town that a crime had been committed after receiving a call that Hamilton was dead.
Fredrickson told the court she panicked and decided to flee with Thomas instead of turning him in. She admitted to lying to detectives about his whereabouts and said she was aware that Thomas threw his gun, phone, and clothing away while driving toward Michigan. Investigators later found evidence that Thomas had tossed his phone into Lake Superior and his clothing into a trash can in Two Harbors.
Fredrickson and Thomas were arrested in Michigan after a traffic stop the following day. Investigators tracked them using OnStar and cell phone location data. A search of Fredrickson’s Moorhead apartment showed it had been abruptly abandoned, with food left in the microwave and the door unlocked.
Clay County Judge Jade Rosenfeldt scheduled Fredrickson’s sentencing for January 9, after Thomas’s upcoming murder trial. Prosecutors expect Fredrickson to testify during that trial.
Thomas faces upgraded charges of first-degree murder with premeditation, first-degree murder – drive-by shooting, and first-degree attempted murder. If convicted, he could face a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment.
For more information on Minnesota criminal court proceedings, visit the Minnesota Judicial Branch website.
I’m Chris Harper reporting for TRF News.
Abby Fredrickson