Man gets 35 years for killing Minneapolis encampment resident over $20 debt

The man convicted of fatally shooting a resident of a Minneapolis homeless encampment over a $20 debt has been sentenced to more than 35 years in prison.

Kenneth Joel McKinnis guilty was sentenced to 426 months in prison this week. He was previously found guilty of 2nd-degree murder in the death of Curtis Johnson , 37.

On the afternoon of Sep. 26, 2023, Minneapolis police officers responded to a report of a shooting at an encampment on the 2400 block of 16th Avenue South.

At the scene, officers found Johnson suffering from a gunshot wound in the chest. He later died at the hospital.

Surveillance footage from the area showed a stolen black pickup truck had arrived at the encampment shortly before the shooting. A man, later identified as McKinnis, was then seen entering Johnson’s tent.

A gunshot was heard before McKinnis got into the truck’s back passenger seat. The truck was found the next day in an abandoned Brooklyn Center parking lot.

The driver of the truck told officers McKinnis had asked him for a ride to the encampment. He stated that he did not hear the gunshot but that McKinnis did have a gun when he dropped him off at his home.

Witnesses later told officers that Johnson and McKinnis had gotten into an argument the day before the shooting over a $20 debt. McKinnis had allegedly told Johnson that he would come back the next day and shoot him if he did not have the money.

"We want to thank the people who had been living in the encampment for their bravery in testifying against Mr. McKinnis," Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement.

"Unhoused people may have to overcome struggles with mental health, substance use, lack of transportation and mistrust in the system just to show up to testify. People across our entire office worked closely to provide the necessary support. It is satisfying to all of us to provide justice for Blow, his family and his community."