MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 19-year-old Minneapolis man faces charges of murder and illegal firearm possession after he allegedly shot his girlfriend Tuesday night, according to court documents filed Friday.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has charged Dymond Hayden with one count of second-degree murder and one count of prohibited firearm possession. Police arrested Hayden in connection with the killing of his girlfriend, 32-year-old Ashantai Finch.
An autopsy showed that Finch died after suffering a single gunshot wound around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday night. Authorities pronounced her dead at the scene, which was the basement of her sister’s home, located on the 8100 block of Hampshire Court North in Brooklyn Park.
A criminal complaint painted this picture of the shooting: Police responded to the scene after the husband of Finch’s sister called police saying there was stabbing. He later told police he said it was a stabbing was because he wasn’t sure what had happened. He did know, however, that he wanted police to respond quickly.
When police responded, they forcibly arrested Hayden after they noticed him move toward a knife. While being arrested, police noticed that Hayden had trouble breathing. He was brought to North Memorial Medical Center for treatment; he had had an asthma attack.
Initially, police did not find a gun. But when they asked Hayden where it was, he showed them. He told police he hid it initially because he was afraid of getting in trouble, as he is on probation for carrying a pistol without a permit.
Hayden also told police that Finch shot herself while playing with the gun – which Hayden said belong to her — in the bathroom. When police told him his story didn’t make sense with ballistics evidence, Hayden changed his story, saying the gun went off while the two were playing with it.
The victim’s friend and sister said Hayden and Finch had relationship issues.
