MINNEAPOLIS (trfnews.i234.me) – Marquise Hammonds-Ford pleaded guilty on Tuesday to illegal possession of a firearm in connection with the shooting death of off-duty firefighter Joseph C. Johns. The plea deal led to other charges, including first-degree rioting, being dropped. Hammonds-Ford will be sentenced on Oct. 9.
The incident occurred on May 5, when Johns, a firefighter with the Eagan and Eden Prairie Fire Departments, was caught in the crossfire of a shootout at a bar on Cedar Avenue South. The bar was crowded with patrons celebrating the founding of a local motorcycle club when an altercation between two groups escalated into gunfire.
Investigators recovered 63 discharged shell casings from at least seven different firearms. Johns tragically lost his life in the crossfire.