Search warrant: Murdered Minneapolis realtor taken from house showing, put into back of U-Haul truck
Monique Baugh was shot and killed on New Year's Eve in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (FOX 9)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Minneapolis police have arrested a 41-year-old man in connection to the murder of a realtor who was found shot in an alley in north Minneapolis on New Year's Eve. Officers arrested the suspect early Friday morning. He is now in custody at the Hennepin County Adult Detention Center on suspicion of probable cause murder.
A search warrant filed Friday in Hennepin County District Court is shedding new details on what led up to Monique Baugh's death. According to the search warrant, Baugh had a house showing scheduled in Maple Grove earlier that day. Surveillance video shows Baugh arrive at the home in her vehicle. Later, a U-Haul truck pulls up and backs up to the garage. The warrant states video shows Baugh being escorted into the back of the U-Haul, which later drives off. Investigators learned the showing was scheduled with Baugh directly and not through the realty firm.
That evening, police responded to two different shootings in north Minneapolis. The first happened at 5:40 p.m. in the 4800 block of Humboldt Avenue North, where a man was shot inside a home. Family members confirmed with FOX 9 the injured man was Baugh's boyfriend. He is expected to recover from his injuries. Before the Humboldt Avenue shooting, police received a report of a U-Haul in the back alley.
The second shooting happened at 6:38 p.m. in the 1300 block of Russell Avenue North. In an alley, officers found Baugh on the ground suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. They also saw she had duct tape around one of her wrists, according to the search warrant. Baugh later died at the hospital.
Court documents state surveillance video captured a U-Haul, which had a rear light out on the passenger side, leaving the area near the murder. A license plate reader captured the same U-Haul driving just 13 minutes after the first shooting. Investigators searched the U-Haul after the renter returned it and found zip ties in the back and packaging tape in the front passenger door.
Police interviewed the U-Haul renter and learned she had rented it for her drug dealer, who, according to the search warrant, is a "rival" drug dealer to Baugh's boyfriend.
Investigators tracked down the drug dealer to a hotel in Minneapolis. Officers later took him into custody.
Investigators are filing the search warrant to gain access to the suspect's cell phone records and possible GPS locations during the time of the shootings.
The case remains under investigation.