Man pleads guilty in deadly Hennepin Avenue shooting
Varnell Allen, 23, of Columbia Heights, Minnesota pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the shooting death of 21-year-old Enzo Herrera Garcia in downtown Minneapolis. (Hennepin County Jail / FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A Columbia Heights, Minnesota man pleaded guilty to second-degree intentional murder for fatally shooting a man, who was walking along Hennepin Avenue with his girlfriend last fall.
Varnell Allen, 23, made the plea during his hearing Tuesday morning in Hennepin County District Court. His trial was set to start on April 20, but he will now be sentenced on that day.
In court, Judge Jeannice Reding told Allen that he faces between nearly 22 years to 30 and a half years behind bars, according to Minnesota sentencing guidelines.
According to the criminal complaint, around 10:20 p.m. on September 28, Enzo Herrera Garcia was walking with his girlfriend on Hennepin Avenue near 8th Street, when a vehicle pulled up next to them. The driver, Allen, yelled at the couple. After Herrera Garcia yelled in response, Allen got out of the vehicle and started hitting Herrera Garcia with a gun. At one point, Allen dropped the gun. He picked it up and shot Herrera Garcia, who later died at the hospital. He was just 21 years old.
Surveillance video captured the shooting. A witness recorded the vehicle's license plate number, which police later found at the address listed on the vehicle's registration records. Police arrested Allen the next day.
In court, Allen admitted that he did not know Herrera Garcia and that he was not acting in self-defense.