Man pleads guilty to double fatal shooting in Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A 20-year-old man pleaded guilty Thursday to the fatal shooting of two men in Minneapolis after a suspected argument over a large quantity of missing narcotics.

Lavell Jacvon Piggie, 20, was indicted by a grand jury in March with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree intentional murder for the February 2022 deaths of two men. However, Piggie opted to accept a plea deal and pleaded guilty to two charges of second-degree intentional murder in Hennepin County court on May 25.

According to court records, Minneapolis police responded to reported gunshots just before 3:45 p.m. on Feb. 10, 2022, and located a running vehicle stopped in a snowbank. Law enforcement located two men in the front seat, both of whom suffered four gunshot wounds each. They were determined to be dead at the scene. 

Investigators used a combination of surveillance footage, witness accounts, and cell phone data to determine Piggie entered the vehicle with the two men and drove around for approximately eight minutes before surveillance video captured the sound of gunshots. A witness reportedly saw Piggie exit the vehicle and leave the scene after the shooting, according to charges. 

Authorities say the dispute was believed to be over missing narcotics. Officers executed a search warrant at Piggie’s home and seized a "significant amount" of crack cocaine, marijuana, fentanyl and other narcotics. Additionally, a bag filled with .40 caliber live round of ammunition was discovered, matching both the caliber and manufacture of the ammunition found in the vehicle's back seat 

Piggie will be sentenced on July 14 and is expected to receive a prison term of 522-612 months (43.5 to 51 years) as part of the plea deal, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.