The son of an ousted former Minnesota state representative with a previous hit-and-run conviction in California has been charged with murder after allegedly plowing into a car carrying five Somali women in Minneapolis and killing them all.
Officials said the horrifying video shows Derrick hitting the car carrying John Thompson, 27, Sabirin Ali, 17, Sahra Gesade, 20, Salma Abdikadir, 20, Sagal Hersi, 19, and Siham Adam, 19.
Thompson has a criminal record that includes a 2018 hit-and-run in California that left a woman with life-changing injuries. He spent several weeks in a coma.
He was sentenced to eight years, with 502 days as credit for time already served and another 75 days of credit for good behavior.
Thompson was freed and is suspected Friday of being behind the wheel of a speeding car that tried to elude a police officer when it crashed into a car with five women on Lake Street preparing for a friend’s wedding the next day.
Derrick John Thompson, the son of an ousted former Minnesota state representative with a prior hit-and-run conviction, was arrested Friday in Minneapolis on manslaughter charges for plowing into a car carrying five Somali women and killing them all.
When contacted about why he was out of jail, the Santa Barbara County District Attorney did not give a specific reason but suggested that California’s Proposition 57 gave the state ‘broad latitude to grant credit for additional custody, as well as, the opportunity for early parole.’
As they saw it under the law, Thompson had to spend another five and a half years in prison.
The car Thompson was driving contained more than 17 pounds of marijuana and $20,000 in cash, according to Fox News.
Thompson has been arrested dozens of times, has at least six convictions and has been in prison multiple times.
He was convicted in 2014 of carrying a firearm without a permit and received a one-year prison sentence and two years of probation.
In 2015, he was sentenced to one month in prison and five years of probation for drug-related offenses.
Thompson’s father, John Thompson, was expelled from the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party caucus in September 2021 for lying about being racially profiled by a police officer for his past run-ins with the law, including a domestic violence charge.
He officially resigned in November 2022, despite being endorsed for re-election in 2021 by prominent state Democrats, including Governor Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison and Representative Ilhan Omar.
In April 2022, Thompson – who was then a freelancer – was accused of brandishing his official business card by St. Paul police in an attempt to intimidate them.
Thompson’s father, John Thompson, was expelled from the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party caucus in September 2021 for lying about being racially profiled by a police officer for his past run-ins with the law, which included a domestic violence charge.
He is also said to have yelled at officers after a traffic stop in St. Paul on April 24, when his 26-year-old daughter Laraja Austin was pulled over.
Thompson accused them of racism, and successfully managed to convince the cops to give Austin a break, so that he would not be subjected to a sobriety test or arrested.
Officers taking part in a crackdown on impaired driving pulled the beautician over after spotting her jerking off and allegedly hitting her car with weed in the process.
Condemning Thompson’s alleged behavior in a Facebook post, St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell wrote: ‘This turned ugly fast.
In the summer of 2021, the St. Paul Police Department released footage of Thompson being pulled over and making similar accusations of racism against officers. Thompson said he was guilty of ‘driving while black’.
The incident revealed that Thompson had a Wisconsin driver’s license.
That revelation saw the media discover Thompson had prior domestic abuse allegations.
Following these revelations, Thompson was removed from the Minnesota Legislature’s Democratic Farm Labor Party caucus.
Thompson said in a statement after his ouster that he would continue to serve his constituency as an independent.
Thompson (C) marches with Black Lives Matter protesters outside the Brooklyn Center police headquarters on April 13, 2021 in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Thompson’s wife has previously come forward and said her husband never abused her
Thompson was charged with multiple domestic abuse incidents dating back to 2003. In one instance, the alleged abuse occurred in front of her children.
The state representative’s wife, Leah Austin Thompson, came forward in 2021 to say of her husband, ‘I was never abused. He never abused me.’
Thompson attended Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s State of the State speech the same day her daughter was pulled over at 6 p.m.
According to a 2021 St. Paul Pioneer-Press profile, Thompson rose to prominence after the murder of his ‘good friend’ Philando Castile. Although a feature in Vice magazine referred to him as Castile’s ‘best friend’.
On his official website, Thompson wrote, ‘My family and I have always worked hard and kept to myself until the day my friend and colleague Philando Castile was shot and killed during a traffic stop. At that moment, I knew I couldn’t keep quiet anymore.’
The girls’ car is shown (top left) seconds before it hit Thompson’s SUV on Friday.
The girls’ car is shown flipping sideways at 95mph moments after the impact
The five women killed were doing last-minute shopping at a Minneapolis mall on Friday and getting tattoos for a friend’s wedding the next day.
They were on their way home when Thompson ran a red light and crashed into them in his SUV around 10 p.m. According to officials, he was traveling at about 95mph – 40 miles over the 55mph speed limit.
Thompson survived the crash and fled his car on foot to a nearby Taco Bell.
Later he was arrested there and taken to the hospital. Police sources told Newstimesuk.com that he is expected to be released today and taken into custody.
According to the state Department of Public Safety, a Minnesota State Police trooper began chasing the SUV on an interstate because it was speeding near 100 mph when the speed limit is 55 mph in south Minneapolis.
The SUV exited the highway before pulling over and ran a red light, hitting the women’s car.
According to director Khalid Omar, the five were regular attendees at the Dar al-Farooq Islamic Center in nearby Bloomington, Minnesota.
‘They are the pearls of our community. They leave a big void. All five of them had bright futures,’ he said.
Ali had just graduated high school and was about to attend the University of Minnesota, while the other four were currently in college.
‘They didn’t do anything wrong,’ Omar added. ‘They were just getting ready for their friend’s wedding.’
A group of five Minnesota women getting henna tattoos and preparing for a friend’s wedding were killed Friday night after a driver hit their car while trying to speed away from police. Sagal Harsi, 19, and Siham Adam, also 19, are two of the victims
Sahra Gesade, 20, and Salma Abdikadir, 20, are two victims of the tragic accident. Abidqadir volunteered as a tutor at his local mosque
17-year-old Sabirin Ali was the youngest among the five killed. He just graduated high school and is going to the University of Minnesota
The girls were driving on Lake Street just before 10 p.m. when a Minnesota State Police SUV ran a red light and hit their car.
Scenes from outside the tragic accident on Friday night. The suspect tried to flee on foot to Taco Bell, but was taken to a hospital
Omar noted that all five women volunteered at the Islamic Center, with Ali and her mother working as caretakers, while Abdikadir often taught the children to read and write Arabic. All five will be buried on Monday.
Thompson was also injured in the accident. He is currently hospitalized after being tested for drugs and alcohol.
The Islamic Center launched a public fundraiser for the families involved, which drew more than $344,000.
‘We are in deep sadness today, as our community suffered a heartbreaking tragedy last night. We lost five of our bright, young sisters in a fatal car accident.
The page reads, ‘May Allah have mercy on the deceased and open the gates of Paradise for them.
‘These young Muslim sisters, were the shining stars of hope for our future. Unfortunately, their lives were lost at the hands of the driver who evaded the police last night.’
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