Shooting suspects of Minneapolis forensic scientist to be tried separately
The scene of the shooting of Nicki Lemway on April 20.
(FOX 9) - A man and woman charged in a shooting that injured a Minneapolis Police Department forensic scientist in April will have separate trials, after a Hennepin County judge rejected a state motion to have the pair tried together.
Timothy Amacher, 41, and his girlfriend Colleen Larson, 24, have been charged in connection to the shooting of 33-year-old Nicole "Nicki" Lenway on April 20. Larson is charged with first-degree attempted murder, while Amacher is charged with first-degree attempted murder and aiding an offender.
According to the motion filed by the state to have the two defendants tried together, "the alleged evidence in the record shows the defendants worked in close concert with each other when attempting to murder the alleged victim… taken together, the alleged evidence shows that Amacher and Larson worked in close concert with one another, favoring joinder of the parties for trial."
With a joint trial, prosecutors explained they were seeking to avoid antagonistic defenses in which the defenses are inconsistent, and seek to put the blame on each other – concluding the jury would then be forced to choose between the defense theories advocated by each defendant.
However, Judge Shereen Askalani ruled if joined, Larson would be prejudiced by Amacher’s speedy trial demand, and vice versa. Larson previously stated she did not wish to assert her right to a speedy trial as she would not be prepared for trial if required to proceed on Oct. 3.
The court ruled the defendants have already demonstrated their defenses would be antagonistic, and the jury would be forced to believe one defendant’s theory over the other – resulting in prejudice if the trials were joined.
Amacher remains jailed on $1,000,000 bail. His trial will move forward on Oct. 3. A trial date for Larson has not been set yet.
Relationship leads to murder attempt
Amacher and Lenway have a 5-year-old son together, but Lenway has full custody of the child, charges state. The shooting happened when Lenway went to pick up her son from a supervised visit with Amacher at FamilyWise, a family support center, around 7:33 p.m. on April 20.
According to the criminal complaints, Minneapolis police responded to FamilyWise on Malcolm Avenue near University Avenue Southeast where they found Lenway suffering from gunshot wounds to the right side of her neck and right forearm.
A witness, who was caring for Lenway, said the shooting happened in the parking lot. The suspect ran up behind Lenway, put an object to Lenway’s neck, then the witness heard two bangs before running away, charges said.
Police recovered three .380 discharged cartridge cases and three .380 live rounds on the ground at the scene.
Lenway was transported to the hospital, where she was treated for a through-and-through gunshot to her arm and a gunshot wound to her neck, which caused "numerous internal injuries."
In the days that followed, Lenway told police what happened via writing - she couldn’t speak due to her injuries - stating she was at the supervised parenting center to pick up her 5-year-old child whom she shares custody with Amacher.
Family court orders restrict when Amacher can have contact with the child, with supervised visitation only between them, prohibiting any contact between Amacher and the victim.
Amacher and the child were inside the building when Lenway was shot.
Bystanders, video ID suspects
People at the parenting center told police the shooter might be Amacher’s girlfriend, Larson, the complaint states.
Surveillance video from the parking lot of the parenting center shows Lenway in her vehicle waiting to pick up her son. Then, a woman got out of a truck, and hid behind a fence until Lenway got out of her vehicle and approached the center. That’s when Larson raised a gun at Lenway, with the shooting happening "just outside the camera view," charges allege.
When asked if he had an idea who would have shot Lenway, Amacher said "absolutely," claiming it must be related to Lenway’s job as a forensic scientist with the MPD.
Investigators searched Amacher and Larson’s home in St. Paul, finding multiple guns but no .380. However, they did find several .380 discharged cartridge cases, with the crime lab determining they were fired from the same gun as the discharged cartridge cases that were found at the scene of the shooting, the complaint says.
In an interview with Larson, she denied being involved and said she was at her home in St. Paul at the time of the shooting, charges state.
History of violence
The criminal complaint says Lenway and Amacher’s relationship history includes domestic violence, extreme harassment and stalking behavior by Amacher over the last few years. Between 2019-2022, Amacher made 10 reports to police that Lenway and her boyfriend were abusing the child but all the reports were deemed unfounded.
During the investigation, the child told a social worker Amacher had told him to lie about being abused.
Court records show in March of this year, Amacher’s visitation had been further restricted to supervised contact only, and he had been ordered to pay visitation costs.
In February 2022, Amacher propositioned one of his friends to kill Lenway for $50,000, charges allege.
Court documents request high bail for both Amacher and Larson, citing Amacher’s "affinity for firearms," which suggest if they are released, they would pose a "significant risk to" Lenway and the public.