Amir Locke Raid Probe Leads to Charges for Wanted 16-Year-Old Suspect

A second teen has been charged in the homicide investigation of a Saint Paul, Minnesota, man that led to the no-knock raid that ended with the death of Amir Locke, a 22-year-old Black man in Minneapolis.

A 16-year-old has been charged with two counts of aiding and abetting second-degree murder in the January death of 38-year-old Otis Elder, according to WCCO-TV. Locke's cousin, 17-year-old Mekhi Speed, was arrested earlier this month for allegedly shooting and killing Elder.

Earlier this month, court records revealed that the no-knock warrant that led to Locke's death was requested by Minneapolis police because of the alleged "violent" history of the suspects tied to Elder's death.

Multiple suspects in Elder's killing were seen in and around a Minneapolis apartment building, which led to police requesting the warrant that allowed the raid of several locations to take place.

"A criminal history review of the known suspects in this homicide revealed that they have history of violent crimes," the request for the no-knock warrant stated. "The suspects have been posting videos and photos on Instagram holding several different firearms to include rifle, possibly the murder weapon."

One of the apartments, allegedly belonging to Speed's brother, was entered by police the morning of February 2, when Locke, not named in the warrants and who did not live in the apartment, was asleep on the couch. Less than 10 seconds after police entered, Locke was allegedly seen holding a gun and was shot by a Minneapolis SWAT officer.

Speed was arrested days later, and charges have been filed but no arrest has been reported of the second 16-year-old allegedly involved in Elder's homicide.

Authorities said that location data for the cellphone of 16-year-old Feysal Ali shows that he was at the scene of Elder's shooting, and has been in the apartment building where Speed allegedly lived and where Locke was shot, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. In addition, Ali's fingerprints were allegedly found in a stolen car that was used to flee the scene of Elder's killing, along with DNA from a jacket recovered during a search that matches DNA found on the passenger seat of Elder's car.

Ali's DNA was matched to the DNA from inside Elder's car through a "convicted offender database," the Star Tribune reported.

A spokesperson for the Ramsey County Attorney's Office declined to comment to Newsweek on the new charges as the investigation is ongoing.

Following Locke's death and reporting that a no-knock warrant was used in the raid that led to his death, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey issued a moratorium temporarily blocking use of the warrants.

Update 2/23/22, 12:12 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional context and information.