CLAY COUNTY, Minn. (trfnews.i234.me) – A Moorhead man already facing murder charges is now accused of another violent crime tied to the same deadly shooting.
According to Clay County court documents, Jerome Anthony Thomas III is now facing a new charge of dangerous weapons drive-by shooting. He was already charged in the November 2024 murder of 39-year-old James Earl Hamilton in Moorhead.
Prosecutors say a new scientific analysis of bullet fragments from the scene matched the ammunition used in a gun owned by Thomas. Investigators say this new evidence connects Thomas directly to the shooting.
For background, Thomas was arrested in Michigan in late 2024 after a multi-state search. He was taken into custody along with 32-year-old Abby Nicole Frederickson, who was reportedly driving the vehicle believed to have been used in the shooting. Both suspects were extradited to Minnesota to face charges.
The shooting occurred on November 10, 2024, outside a home on 14th Street South in Moorhead. Police found Hamilton lying in a driveway with a gunshot wound to the head. Witnesses told investigators they recognized Thomas as the driver of a green Chevrolet Trax seen speeding away after multiple gunshots.
Detectives also gathered surveillance video showing the vehicle and a suspect matching Thomas’s description. Forensic testing later confirmed the bullet material at the scene matched the ammunition seized from his residence.
Thomas is now facing multiple felony counts, including second-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and drive-by shooting. If convicted, he faces decades in prison.
For more background on the original case, visit the Minnesota court records portal.
I’m Chris Harper reporting for TRF News.
