MINNEAPOLIS – Charges have been dropped against a man accused of murdering a two-year-old during a gun battle in north Minneapolis in 2016 due to a lack of witnesses.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office says Chris Maurice Welch is no longer charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death Le’Vonte Jones. Court records show five witnesses in the case are either dead, in jail, missing, or unwilling to testify – leaving the prosecutors without anyone to identify Welch as the person who committed the crime.
Welch is serving a 17-year federal sentence outside of Minnesota on a gun charge.
