MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A 30-year-old Chicago man has pleaded guilty to killing his friend in south Minneapolis after an argument over money, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
Steven Jarrod Williams agreed to give up any claim of self-defense and pleaded guilty to second-degree intentional murder.
Williams admitted under questioning that he and his friend Michael Hayden, 29, of Chicago drove to Minnesota early in November. They were staying at a hotel in St. Paul on Nov. 6, 2012 when Hayden discovered some of his money missing. Hayden spent the rest of the day accusing Williams of taking the money. Williams testified that he told Hayden he did not steal the money.
The next day, the pair went to south Minneapolis and pulled over in an alley in the 2100 block of 10th Ave. S. and Williams got out of the minivan. When he returned, he said that he saw Hayden fumbling around with something in the back seat. Williams then climbed back into the driver’s seat with Hayden in the passenger seat.
They argued some more over the money and when Hayden reached into his jacket, Williams admitted to using a gun and firing several shots into Hayden’s chest.
Williams is expected to face 340 months in prison – over 28 years – when he is sentenced July 2.
